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Sympathy For
The Devil--Murderers Call Sleeping 'Inhumane'...plus a little history lesson in
capital punishment
by Michael Minton
thegunnerscorner
In what seems to me to be an unbelievable move, convicted murderers around the
country, including right here in my beloved Kentucky, are claiming that being
put to sleep, as a means of carrying out a death sentence, is “cruel and
inhumane!” What in the world?!?!
This has got to be one of the dumbest arguments that I have ever heard in my
life. Maybe next week they can sue the prison systems because their burgers were
medium-well, and not just medium as they requested. They do offer menus and
cooking preferences in prison now days, don’t they?
There are two death row cases now pending in a Franklin (KY) Circuit Court that
are basically just giving a couple of murderers a little more time to live. The
convicted murderers in the middle of the controversy are Ralph Baze, who killed
a Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff in Powell County, KY, in 1992, and Thomas Clyde
Bowling, who murdered Edward and Tina Earley in Lexington, KY, in 1990.
The argument being put forth is that sodium pentathol, the general anesthetic
first injected to render him unconscious and ensure that the murderer will not
feel pain, in fact does not guarantee that said murderer will not have ANY PAIN
WHATEVER during the remainder of the procedure.
Once the sodium pentathol has been injected, a drug called Pavulon follows.
Pavulon paralyzes the murderer so that the lungs no longer function. Following
that, potassium chloride, the drug that stops the heart, is injected, and death
quickly ensues.
As reported in The Courier-Journal article entitled “Doctor Defends Lethal
Injection,” viewable at:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050503/NEWS0104/505030366&SearchID=73206964572007
, Dr. Mark Dershwitz, anesthesiologist at the University of Massachusetts
Memorial Medical Center, testified that, “A person (following the sodium
pentathol injection) is going to sleep for hours.” (As an aside, I would say
that once the other drugs are administered, ‘hours’ may seem like a bit of an
understatement.)
A witness for the convicted murderers, a Dr. Mark Heath, told the court that
it’s possible the murderer could be conscious following the sodium pentathol,
and therefore able to feel pain, but not be able to express that pain because of
the paralysis caused by the second drug.
My gut reaction to that observation is…who cares? But, since that is not
politically correct, I’ll go to my second reaction--if the murderer has been
given enough anesthesia to knock him unconscious for several hours, he surely
will be out of it for the less-than-ten-minute-process of lethal injection. And,
if there is the slightest doubt, here’s a thought…MORE SODIUM PENTATHOL!!!
Problem solved. See how easily and inexpensively we could settle this whole
court process?
As I contemplated this situation, another thought continually ran through my
mind. Does the name Terri Schiavo ring a bell? There was an innocent, disabled
woman who was starved and/or dehydrated to death. And she had not even so much
as elbowed someone. Yet, here we are worried that a man who flat out killed two
law-enforcement officers may suffer some pain for a few minutes? PLEASE! This
country’s priorities are WAY out of alignment.
Then, as if my dander was not already getting up enough, while investigating the
lethal injection process, I came across the following quote found at
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/002773.html . “An expert anesthesiologist
testified that:
...he became intrigued by the lethal-injection protocol when convicted Oklahoma
City bomber Timothy McVeigh was put to death. Heath said he thought then it was
odd to use Pavulon and was alarmed when witnesses reported that McVeigh's eyes
began tearing during the execution, a ‘hallmark sign’ that he was either
conscious or under light anesthesia — and not unconscious as expected.”
“Surely there must be a better way--we suggest choosing life.” A quote from
talkleft.com.
Oh PUKE! So, there is a slight chance that Timothy McVeigh may have been in pain
for a few minutes. Heartbreaking, I tell ya! If he did have tears in his eyes, I
would bet that they are the only tears which that mass-murderer ever shed in
connection with the Oklahoma City bombing. Sorry, hard to elicit sympathy from
me with an example like that.
But alas, I am a fair man, so I did some research on the history, and methods,
of execution, compliments of History Of The Death Penalty, Part I -Death Penalty
Information Center: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=15&did=410.
In Fifth century B.C., common methods of execution, as ascribed by the Roman Law
of the Twelve Tablets, were: crucifixion, drowning, beating to death and
impalement.
In Tenth Century England, hanging was apparently the most popular method of
execution. But that changed in the 16th century when Henry VIII instituted such
methods as boiling, burning at the stake, beheading, and drawing and quartering,
which, as explained at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Drawing_and_quartering, means that “the full
punishment for the crime was that the culprit be:
Dragged on a hurdle to the place of execution
Hanged by the neck, but removed before death
Disemboweled, and the genitalia and entrails burned before the victim's eyes
Beheaded and the body divided into four parts (quartered).
Typically, the resulting five parts (i.e., the four quarters of the body and the
head) were gibbeted (put on public display) in different parts of the city or
town to deter would-be traitors. Gibbeting was abolished in England in 1843.” Of
course, hanging was still in vogue at this time, as well.
Then, in America’s colonial days, executions (hanging, etc.) were held in
public. It was not until 1834 that the first state, Pennsylvania, began
executing prisoners within the confines of the prison.
Moving on, in 1890, the first man to die in an electric chair, William Kemmler,
was executed in New York. Nebraska still uses electrocution as its only form of
capital punishment. It is also still offered as an option to lethal injection in
Virginia and Tennessee.
Cyanide gas chambers were introduced as a method of carrying out executions in
the 1920’s.
Now, given the methods of capital punishment throughout history, don’t you think
going to sleep sounds pretty damn good?
Franklin Circuit Judge Roger Crittenden has given both sides until May 20 to
submit final briefs, after which time he will make a decision in the matter.
Quotes from the families in the Courier-Journal story worth noting:
Several relatives of two Powell County lawmen killed by Baze attended
yesterday's hearing. They said they believe the case is just another effort to
stall execution of Baze and Bowling, who have exhausted other appeals.
"If the state of Kentucky's going to uphold the death penalty, it seems to me
that lethal injection is the least painful way to go," said Leslie Campbell,
sister of Powell County sheriff's deputy Arthur Briscoe, who was fatally shot in
1992 along with his brother-in-law, Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett, when
they attempted to arrest Baze.
"They don't even mention any pain he put those boys through and all their
families," said Beatrice Briscoe, Arthur Briscoe's mother.
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