The Problems with Lethal-Injections After listening to the NPR (National Public Radio) discussion on lethal-Injection Problems, and doing some of my own research, I have found that lethal-Injections are now the most used method of execution in the United States. Even though it comes with problems it is still the most common use in the prison system. During 2009 out of the 52 executions all but 1 was carried out by Lethal-Injection.By the end 2009 there were 1016 executions that was carried out by lethal-injections and which nine of them were woman, on July 21st 2009 in Lucasville Ohio, Marvallous Keene who was convicted on multiple accounts of murder, he was the 1000th person to be lethalized in the United States. In other countries such as china lethal-injections are replacing their shooting method, in Guatemala; The Philippines and Thailand lethal-injections are there only method of execution known in their countries. The idea of lethal-injections date all the way back to 1888 when Dr.
J. Mount Bleyer wrote an article in the Medico-Legal journal that stated lethal-injection are not only humane but also cheaper and no longer allow a prisoner to go out in an heroic way such as a hanging provided. The Doctor had suggested that the usage of an intravenous injection with 6 grains of Morphine would also do the trick, but in the end the idea was over ruled and the electric chair was introduced. Lethal- injection just and any newly introduced method by no means are foolproof, it too has its flaws.
Some of its complications may it be technical or mechanical it is still the most common usage. For example on March 14th 1984 James Autrey a Texas prisoner sentence to death by lethal-injection was fully conscious and complained of pain for ten minutes after the chemicals began to be injected, the cause of his pain was later found that either the catheter was clogged which delayed the transmission of the chemical or the needle did not go into the vein but pass it, which cause the chemicals to inter the muscle which caused him pain.Another example is December 13th 1988 Raymond Landry a Texas prisoner was pronounced dead after 40 minutes of being strapped to the gurney and after 24 minutes from the chemical flow start, two minutes into the execution the catheter came out Landry’s arm and sprayed the chemical across the room in the direction of the witnesses. The team had to reinsert the catheter into his vein while the curtain was close so witnesses could not see what was going on. Another example according to the NPR broadcast is an inmate Angel Nieves Diaz who was sentence to death by lethal-injection.On December 13th 2006 in Florida it took Diaz 34 minutes to be pronounced dead.
During his execution he required a second because the needle went through his vein, which caused chemical burns on his arms that were noticed by the medical examiner. In 2000 on May 3rd the first woman the be executed by lethal injection was Christina Marie Riggs from Arkansas, she agreed to have the catheter inserted into the veins of her wrist because it took them 18 minutes to find a suitable vein to insert the catheter.Lethal injection is the most common form of execution in thirty five of the American States these being Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. As of today Texas still hold the record of having the most executions by lethal-injection.California built a new lethal-injection chamber in San Quentin prison during 2009.
In Walla Walla the Washington State Penitentiary carried out their executions under the trapdoors of the gallows. In Utah they use the same chamber for shootings and lethal-injections. In conclusion it is my opinion that lethal-injections are not humane, especially when there are flaws and defects. I feel that we as humans an eye for an eye will only destroy our society and cripple our existence. I feel prisoners on death row should be made to live out their lives behind bars making them have to live with the pain they have caused families.
