WHEN LETHAL INJECTIONS GO WRONG
Within the United States, there are 32 states that have the death penalty as an option for punishment for particularly heinous crimes. Most of these states choose to use lethal injection as the method for execution. There are a couple of options states have as to what protocol they would like to use for executions in their particular state. They have the option of using the one, two or three drug protocol for their lethal injection cocktail. According to Death Penalty Information Center, the one or two drug protocol consists of a lethal dose of an anesthetic or sedative. The three drug protocol consists of an anesthetic or sedative followed by “pancuronium bromide to paralyze the inmate and potassium chloride to stop the inmate's heart.” Lethal injection becomes problematic when the inmate is administered these lethal combination of drugs and something goes awry. Botched executions by lethal injection happen more often than most people may think.
In the most recent botched execution, Oklahoma inmate, Clayton Lockett, a convicted rapist and murderer was accused of shooting a 19 year old woman and burying her alive. Mr. Lockett was given a three drug cocktail that was used for the first time in the State of Oklahoma. After administering the drugs into Mr. Lockett, he began writhing and convulsing, trying to lift his head off of the gurney. When the prison personnel realized something was going wrong, they closed the curtains and began to examine the problem. They realized that Mr. Lockett’s vein had exploded. It took Mr. Lockett 43 minutes to die from the time the first dose of drugs were administered. Mr. Lockett ultimately died of a heart attack. The State of Oklahoma is now fully investigating what went wrong in the botched execution of Clayton Lockett.
There is no doubt that the crime Clayton Lockett committed was despicable and heinous, and certainly there will be those that believe Mr. Lockett got what he deserved. I am sure the family of that dead women can’t fathom the pain and suffering their family member must have suffered when she was killed, and probably are finding it difficult to find sympathy for the way in which Mr. Lockett died.
When a state decides to execute an inmate it should be done humanely. The using of experimental drugs and using inmates as guinea pigs in their executions is not humane. How must the family of Mr. Lockett feel knowing that he died suffering the way he did?
One of the problems some states are having is finding the drugs needed to follow through with executions because the United States has stopped manufacturing these drugs. Europe still manufactures these drugs but because Europe opposes the death penalty it has banned the exporting of these drugs. States are left to find drugs that have never been used so they don’t know what the reaction to the inmate will be when it is administered. There is also the fact that many prisons use prison personnel to administer the lethal injections who are not physicians so mistakes are bound to happen.
As long as the death penalty is legal in some states they will continue to be carried out, but there should be a better way to make sure that these inmates are executed in a humane way.
Click on the link below to see examples of botched executions:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/some-examples-post-furman-botched-executions
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/us/oklahoma-botched-execution/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/30/lethal-injections-a-history-of-bungled-executions/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/death-penalty_n_5239620.html
In the most recent botched execution, Oklahoma inmate, Clayton Lockett, a convicted rapist and murderer was accused of shooting a 19 year old woman and burying her alive. Mr. Lockett was given a three drug cocktail that was used for the first time in the State of Oklahoma. After administering the drugs into Mr. Lockett, he began writhing and convulsing, trying to lift his head off of the gurney. When the prison personnel realized something was going wrong, they closed the curtains and began to examine the problem. They realized that Mr. Lockett’s vein had exploded. It took Mr. Lockett 43 minutes to die from the time the first dose of drugs were administered. Mr. Lockett ultimately died of a heart attack. The State of Oklahoma is now fully investigating what went wrong in the botched execution of Clayton Lockett.
There is no doubt that the crime Clayton Lockett committed was despicable and heinous, and certainly there will be those that believe Mr. Lockett got what he deserved. I am sure the family of that dead women can’t fathom the pain and suffering their family member must have suffered when she was killed, and probably are finding it difficult to find sympathy for the way in which Mr. Lockett died.
When a state decides to execute an inmate it should be done humanely. The using of experimental drugs and using inmates as guinea pigs in their executions is not humane. How must the family of Mr. Lockett feel knowing that he died suffering the way he did?
One of the problems some states are having is finding the drugs needed to follow through with executions because the United States has stopped manufacturing these drugs. Europe still manufactures these drugs but because Europe opposes the death penalty it has banned the exporting of these drugs. States are left to find drugs that have never been used so they don’t know what the reaction to the inmate will be when it is administered. There is also the fact that many prisons use prison personnel to administer the lethal injections who are not physicians so mistakes are bound to happen.
As long as the death penalty is legal in some states they will continue to be carried out, but there should be a better way to make sure that these inmates are executed in a humane way.
Click on the link below to see examples of botched executions:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/some-examples-post-furman-botched-executions
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/us/oklahoma-botched-execution/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/30/lethal-injections-a-history-of-bungled-executions/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/death-penalty_n_5239620.html
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