Three upcoming Oklahoma executions have been put on hold after complications with procedures for carrying out the procedures. Oklahoma administers this punishment in the form of lethal doses of chemicals. This process was questioned after an inmate, Clayton Lockett, was tortured to his death by being administered the drugs wrong. All executions in the state were halted until the problems with the procedure could be sorted out. 21 inmates that are sentenced to death roll in the state are now attempting to sue the state because they feel that it is against their Constitutional rights to be "experimented upon" and undergo cruel, unusual punishment. The state was said to not possess the necessary resources to successfully carry out these executions. The state thinks the problem is the training or the workers carrying out these procedures and not the actual substances themselves.
Personally, I don't agree with killing people in general, no matter what they did. We don't have the right to take away a life. Also, I feel that killing someone who committed a serious offense is the easy way for the malefactor to get off with what they did. Whether their motives are ethical or not, it is already unnerving to know that the state has to end lives by administering lethal dosages of chemicals to the inmates, but also knowing that there's a risk of prolonged suffering afterward is disturbing as well. This whole situation is just very inconvenient.
http://news.yahoo.com/official-oklahoma-not-ready-nov-13-execution-154759424.html
I agree that it is inhumane to punish people via the death penalty, especially if their means of execution are not solidified. However, I do see why people believe that it is important to exterminate such individuals who have caused enough harm to society to be sentenced to death. If they must die, it is ideal that it happens quickly and painlessly.
ReplyDelete-Vivie Behrens (Period 6)
I agree with you that we really shouldn't be killing people in general and the fact that when the chemicals are administered wrong then its quite horrifying to think that it the pain induced is likened to torture when we are supposed to have evoloved away from such medieval practices.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely. One of our countries beliefs is to have fair and sensible solutions to our problems and ending someone's life does not fall into that category whatsoever.
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