Beka Canfield pd 5

Michael Taylor Executed: Missouri Puts To Death Fourth Person In 4 Months

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/26/michael-taylor-executed_n_4856320.html

Michael Taylor was recently put to death by the state of Missouri for a crime he committed in 1989, making him the 4th person to be executed in the state of Missouri in 4 months. There was some debate about the way Taylor was executed, however. The Apothecary Shoppe, who supplied the three-drug system Missouri originally used to implement the death penalty, recently announced its resignation from the task. This led the state to turn to a new drug named pentobarbital. This drug is made by an unnamed pharmacy that is not regulated by the FDA, sparking objections to the new method, many of which involved Taylor having to endure inhuman pain and suffering before his death. A retired detective who had investigated Taylor's case has no sympathy for such allegations, saying "a cruel and unusual punishment would be if we killed them the same way they killed Annie Harrison."

honestly, I'm not a fan of the death penalty. I recognize that Michael Taylor's crime was horrific, and I don't by any means think he should go unpunished, but I can't help thinking that there are better ways to handle people like this. How about the fact that prison was made specifically for people who commit terrible crimes? I understand the taxpayer element of the argue for the death penalty, I just don't think it's worth someone's life. especially if the point is to deter future crimes that often involve murder; doesn't it seem to accomplish that with more murder?