A US state speeds up executions, scheduling eight in 10 days

[inanna]

Source: Agence France-Presse

AFP
March 10, 2017

Washington (AFP) - The US state of Arkansas is racing to execute eight death row inmates in 10 days next month to beat the expiration date on a hard-to-get drug used in lethal injections.

Death penalty opponents have denounced the rush to execute, with the New York Times saying it was for a reason "as mundane as it is absurd."

<snip>

Under a decree signed by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, the first two prisoners will be put to death on April 17, followed by two more on April 20, another two on April 24 and the last pair on April 27.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, an independent organization, no state has ever carried out eight executions in 10 days.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-state-speeds-executions-scheduling-eight-10-days-201254158.html

[longship]

1. Ohio replaces lethal injection with head ripping off machine.

(From The Onion, of course.)

And, of course, Texas is going to use the Mashinator.

[7962]

3. Love The Onion!!!!

[7962]

2. Long as there's no doubt of their guilt, have at it.

The quicker the sentence is carried out the more impact it will have .
But change the law for the DP to only be available in cases where there is ZERO doubt as to the guilt of the accused. PLENTY of those cases around.

Now, let the bashing begin!

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

5. I agree with this aswell

As long as it's certain the person is guilty I have no problem with it.

We don't need people like Dylan roof in our society.

[7962]

8. Perfect example. nt

[colorado_ufo]

9. My mind always goes back to Richard Speck.

Ted Bundy. Many more.

There is no rehabilitating these individuals, and they are a threat to their fellow inmates. The thought of a possible escape is chilling indeed.

[Judi Lynn]

12. And your candidate for the DP, Dylan Roof, felt "we" don't need African-American human beings.

It's an evil game to play, shunned by civilized nations.

[RoadhogRidesAgain]

13. Terrible argument.

Just terrible. Comparing two different things entirely. Good job equating the ravings of a racist mass killer to the pain of the victims famalies of these murderers wanting to rid society of mass killers.

I might block you.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Hutch has had to wait since he took office because state

was sued. Now the supply if drugs is about to expire and Hutchinson can't wait to kill some people.

There were no executions under Governor Beebe.

[olddad56]

6. Arkansas is part of the US, I had no idea.

[jmowreader]

7. There's a possibility none of these executions will happen

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/27/arkansas-governor-sets-execution-dates-for-8-inmates/

They need three drugs to execute anyone in Arkansas:

midazolam - renders the inmate unconscious
vecuronium bromide - paralyzes the inmate's breathing muscles
potassium chloride - stops the inmate's heart

The drug they're worrying about is midazolam - which the manufacturer will no longer sell to prisons, and is in short supply: http://www.ashp.org/menu/DrugShortages/CurrentShortages/Bulletin.aspx?id=858 Arkansas' supply of this expires on April 30.

The drug they SHOULD be worrying about is potassium chloride; their stock expired in January.

I wonder why the states who persist in maintaining a death penalty statute don't just go back to firing squads.

[colorado_ufo]

10. Why does it all have to be done through lethal injection?

Surgeons stop hearts in surgery routinely.

Administer appropriate anesthesia, stop the heart electrically (paddles), use minimum incision method to sever the aorta.

Painless, quick, and no chance of recovery and no possibility of inhumane suffering for the inmate.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Gee, sounds like fun, doesn't it? n/t

[colorado_ufo]

16. Not fun

I have read horror stories about inmates on whom the drug combo did not work. Looking for a more humane method of doing this, if we are going to do this at all.

[No Vested Interest]

14. Don't states have a hard enough time enlisting executioners under prevailing conditions?

Medical doctors would have no part of that.

[colorado_ufo]

17. Probably right.

[jmowreader]

15. The Hippocratic Oath prevents doctors from assisting in executions

Your plan, which would work, would require a surgeon to become the executioner.

It's going to have to be either shooting or hanging. My personal preference would be the choice of France until they abolished capital punishment, and for the same reason they kept it after a lot of the "civilized" world went to lethal injection: it's damn hard to find a jury who believes someone is so guilty they deserve to be guillotined.

[colorado_ufo]

18. Killing people is a most unpleasant act.

It's very sad that this fact did not deter the killers.

The surgery would not have to be performed by a physician, since there is no concern about the inmate's recovery. A layman could be trained to do it.

[No Vested Interest]

19. Laymen executioners botched executions.

Last edited Sat Mar 11, 2017, 04:54 PM - Edit history (1)

We've heard of many examples of botched executions in recent years.
Inept attempts to find a vein or insert needle into veins; recently one condemned man was verbally helping the executioners find a good vein.
Some executioners have tried to stop the execution in recent years when either the drug wasn't working as planned or the condemned person wasn't dying quickly enough or was dying in a gruesome manner.
Such snafus make for bad publicity for executions and governors don't like being part of these problems.

[colorado_ufo]

20. A very difficult problem.

[Hestia]

21. Have you read about guillotined deaths? They are brutal - the head doesn't just slice off cleanly

like they show in movies. A lot of times, it takes multiple tries to get the head to sever. And needless to say, bloody as hell.

[NutmegYankee]

23. I think you are talking about axe executions.

[pressbox69]

22. Wow.

How about in the DC area. Do they still execute foreign spies?

[raccoon]

24. I bet they'll beat out Saudi Arabia on those executions! :sarcasm: :disgust: nt