Arizona execution takes two hours

[scraparcs]

US death row inmate Joseph Wood has died after an execution in Arizona took nearly two hours to kill him.

Two hours. What next, day long executions? If there is no swift and humane way to execute a person, should it be done at all?

BBC News - Arizona execution takes two hours

 

[Angeldove97]

Theologically speaking, I know the death penalty is a bad thing to have- it's not humane to kill a person, no matter how bad they are.

Personally speaking, I wish there was some kind of "fail switch" in case the originally planned method of killing doesn't "work".

Family members of the victims were unconcerned by the way the execution was carried out. "This man conducted a horrific murder and you guys are going, let's worry about the drugs,'' said Richard Brown.

That freaks me out- as if the victims' family members "enjoyed" watching him suffer. Then again, if my family members were killed I might have A LOT of anger issues to deal with too.

 

[MachZer0]

Last words of Mr wood: "I take comfort knowing today my pain stops, and I said a prayer that on this or any other day you may find peace in all of your hearts and may God forgive you all," Wood said. He's in the comfort he sought now so all is good

 

[scraparcs]

Things are done, but ultimately what's the point in killing a person to avenge death, generally speaking? At some point we have to say stop, let's end this. Preferably this would be before an execution even begins.

 

[MachZer0]

Things are done, but ultimately what's the point in killing a person to avenge death, generally speaking? At some point we have to say stop, let's end this. Preferably this would be before an execution even begins.

It's not vengeance, it's punishment. The state says if you do this, we'll do this to you.

 

[Angeldove97]

It's not vengeance, it's punishment. The state says if you do this, we'll do this to you.

Yeah if a person kills someone, there's usually a very good chance that if they get caught they're going to either be in jail the rest of their life or get the death penalty (if their state has it). I don't get why that's not a good enough deterrent to not kill.

 

[South Bound]

Two hours. What next, day long executions? If there is no swift and humane way to execute a person, should it be done at all?

BBC News - Arizona execution takes two hours

What's the problem? Did he have some place to be?

 

[EdwinWillers]

Two hours. What next, day long executions? If there is no swift and humane way to execute a person, should it be done at all?

BBC News - Arizona execution takes two hours

Punishment that doesn't fit the crime is not just.

We shouldn't use a botched execution as an excuse to say execution isn't a fitting punishment for certain crimes.

 

[Douger]

Two hours. What next, day long executions? If there is no swift and humane way to execute a person, should it be done at all?

BBC News - Arizona execution takes two hours

I agree, this is ridiculous. How can it be that as time goes on executions get more complicated and less effective?

 

[Panzerkamfwagen]

Two hours. What next, day long executions? If there is no swift and humane way to execute a person, should it be done at all?

There is.

Noose.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Bullet

 

[AceHero]

Things are done, but ultimately what's the point in killing a person to avenge death, generally speaking? At some point we have to say stop, let's end this. Preferably this would be before an execution even begins.

It's not vengeance, it's punishment. The state says if you do this, we'll do this to you.

Sure, it's punishment. But if it takes two hours, it's nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment.

It's disgusting these criminals think they can get away with it because we are "soft on crime". They are lucky we aren't allowed to torture them.

This man was tortured to death.

 

[morningstar2651]

There is.

Noose.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Bullet

Why not just herd the inmates into a chamber pumped full of Zyklon B?

It worked in Germany.

In all seriousness though...there is no excuse for just sitting there and waiting 2 hours for this man to die.

 

[Douger]

There is.

Noose.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Bullet

I agree. It's sad that bizarre and ineffective methods have become the norm. Even the electric chair was/is awful IMO.

 

[AztecSDSU]

The problem is trying to come up with highly complicated ways to sanitize an execution. Yeah, it's great and painless when it works but there is always going to be the occasional incident with complicated procedures. Is it that big of a deal? Not really, in the US if you actually get executed for something you aren't getting anything you didn't have coming. You'll forgive me if I'm not shedding tears for a guy that murdered his girlfriend and her father because it took a little longer to off them than originally anticipated. But I'm all for using cheaper and pain free methods of execution that have a zero percent chance of failure. .30-06 round to the back of the head. Cost of lethal injection cocktail: $1286.86, cost of a .30-06 round: about $1.00. We can save the tax payer $1285 while ensuring a quick and painless death.

 

[FreedByte]

Two hours. What next, day long executions? If there is no swift and humane way to execute a person, should it be done at all?

BBC News - Arizona execution takes two hours

No, it shouldn't, even if they find a "humane" way to do it.

If even one innocent person gets the death penalty it is a travesty of justice and is absolutely unacceptable, and some estimates put the rate at 4% of those who get the death penalty being innocent.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/28/death-penalty-study-4-percent-defendants-innocent

"That it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer, is a Maxim that has been long and generally approved." - Benjamin Franklin

 

[FreedByte]

It's not vengeance, it's punishment. The state says if you do this, we'll do this to you.

But if even just 1% (and that's a very conservative estimate) is innocent then the state is murdering innocent people.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

I agree. It's sad that bizarre and ineffective methods have become the norm. Even the electric chair was/is awful IMO.

Yeah, that is what I thought. Older ways were probably more humane than this.

 

[Targaryen]

No, it shouldn't, even if they find a "humane" way to do it.

If even one innocent person gets the death penalty it is a travesty of justice and is absolutely unacceptable, and some estimates put the rate at 4% of those who get the death penalty being innocent.

US death row study: 4% of defendants sentenced to die are innocent | World news | theguardian.com

"That it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer, is a Maxim that has been long and generally approved." - Benjamin Franklin

 

[MachZer0]

Sure, it's punishment. But if it takes two hours, it's nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment.



This man was tortured to death.

He was sedated and pumped with pain killers. He felt nothing.

 

[MachZer0]

I agree, this is ridiculous. How can it be that as time goes on executions get more complicated and less effective?

It's because the bleeding hearts over at the ACLU keep suing over the methods which then have to change