As citizens in California and elsewhere are becoming increasingly
aware, lethal injection may not be as painless as was once thought.
Professor Robert Blecker of New York Law School, while no fan of lethal injection because
of its medicalized aspects, cruelly considers the risk of inflicting excruciatingly pain during execution as a plus if the prisoner's crime meets his
criteria of being "sadistic" or showing "depraved indifference" to the
victim's pain.
The three-drug method of lethal injenction starts with a massive overdose
of sodium thiopental, a barbiturate which if properly administered causes
prompt unconsciousness and would kill by itself within a few minutes.
Although
thiopental causes no pain, two drugs each with torturous
potential, follow.
Pancuronium bromide is a neuromuscular blocker or paralyzing agent
which, on a conscious subject, inflicts the chemical equivalent of
waterboarding (simulated drowning) by blocking the
respiratory action of the diaphragm. The purpose in giving it is
to shield the witnesses from having to see involuntary muscular movements
that may occur in natural death as well lethal injection. State
killing should be packaged as tidily as possible, even if this means
subjecting a human being to slow suffocation disguised by the "peace"
of total paralysis stifling any word, cry, or gesture of
distress.
Potassium chloride is then given in a massive overdose to stop the heart.
If the prisoner has not been given the correct dose of thiopental (anesthesia),
like that used for highly invasive surgery, an agonizing sensation of burning spreads from the injection site and through the vein and circulatory system until cardiac arrest finally occurs. The intense pain reported even in therapeutic intravenous use if the rate of administration is too high, and the agonizing screams of patients accidentally given overdoses who have then died, amply document the risk of torture, masked in a lethal injection by the paralyzing
effect of the previous drug, pancuronium bromide.
Interestingly, Blecker seems to agree with abolitionist and
retentionist critics that whatever one thinks about killing a fellow
human by decree, the potentially torturous second and third drugs are
unnecessary:
"If the U.S. Supreme Court someday outlaws
pancuronium and potassium, then simply killing
by a massive dose of lethal anesthetic would
truly liberate physical pain from punishment."
Why not, rather than waiting for the courts to step in, simply drop
the second and third drugs on the basis that no one wants executions
to take needless risks of pain? In Blecker's view, one answer is that
the risk of what most people would likely call torturous pain could
be
a good thing.
Blecker gives an example of an actual Death Row prisoner who
evidently intended to kill his victim by quick strangulation,
but failed, and instead bludgeoned her to death in a horribly
drawn-out process.
"If lethal injection works as designed, [the condemned
prisoner] will die painlessly. If the executioners botch
it, this sadistic rapist murderer may feel intense pain
and burning as the paralytic agent courses through his
veins. He will suffer excruciating pain for a couple of
minutes, until the potassium stops his heart and kills
him."
".... Intuitively and emotionally, we feel certain we
have the right, if not the responsibility to painfully
punish monsters..., because they deserve it."
".... If [the prisoner] acted with such callous
disregard, depraved indifference to his helpless
victim's excruciating pain, what poetic justice, at
least to risk inflicting a painful death with a
`botched' execution, displaying our own deliberate
indifference."
Here he evidently errs in one medical detail: the "paralytic agent"
causes slow suffocation from respiratory failure, while the
burning sensation is actually associated with an overdose
of potassium chloride. For Blecker, a torturous "`botched'
execution'"
can be a public good.
For Blecker, not so surprisingly, this pharmacological atrocity
doesn't amount to actual "torture" -- just "a quick but painful
death." Similarly, we've heard the assertion that waterboarding is
not
torture, but merely "an enhanced interrogation technique."
And whatever we call it, a botched lethal injection isn't just Blecker's
fantasy:
the executions of Joseph Clark in Ohio and Angel Diaz in
Florida (both in 2006) showed us the gruesome reality.
Let's give this provocative author credit for illustrating one very
important point: if, in the 21st century, we don't believe in
inflicting physical pain or torture on prisoners, then we shouldn't
believe in killing subdued prisoners either.
Posted in Blog
Comments Add a CommentComment by Jimmy Choo, Jun 8th, 2010 1:05am
I see no reason to send someone to hell if your committing the the same thing. Compassion is to big a word for most people it seems.specially since the rest of us then have to live with those warped people runnging free amongst us.I think exections need to be televised so people could see just how disgusting they are.
Comment by Encuestas pagadas por internet, Apr 26th, 2010 11:46am
Yeah death penalty is a shame how come the richest country in the world does this barbaric thing.
Comment by Phil, Apr 18th, 2010 1:50pm
Man did not create the death penalty And injection is alot less painful than stoning...
Comment by Carole Abajian, Mar 19th, 2010 8:32pm
I think exections need to be televised so people could see just how disgusting they are. As to the professor's comment, it says a lot about him and nothing about the poor people being murdered.
Comment by Harold Pettus, Feb 21st, 2010 2:44pm
The reason for not inflicting excruciating pain is for what it does to the souls of those who do the inflicting. Especially since the rest of us then have to live with those warped people runnging free amongst us.
Comment by Dagmar, Nov 30th, 2009 5:53am
What good is pain but for you to say its wrong is very true
to condemn a crime and commit it to what good is pain its good only for you. I see no reason to send someone to hell if your committing the the same thing. Compassion is to big a word for most people it seems.
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