Moral Dilemma
Death penalty:
INTRODUCTION
The death penalty has been in place for centuries. Ancient Greece used execution under Draco's Code for a wide range of crimes dating as far back as 621 BC. The Tang Dynasty is reported to have hung and decapitated it's people that were convicted of capital offenses starting in the mid 700s. In the United States, 5 main methods of execution have been used: gas chamber, firing squad, lethal injection, hanging, and electrocution. Each of these methods have been widely debated, mainly for their constitutionality with regards to the 8th Amendment, which protects American Citizens from cruel and unusual punishment.
METHODS OF CHOICE
Lethal Injection -- Texas was the first state to use lethal injection, in 1982, to execute Charles Brooks. All 32 states where the death penalty is legal have authorized the use of lethal injection. The lethal injection method uses a 3 chemical cocktail to neutralize the convicted: the first chemical is a powerful anesthetic, sodium thiopental, which should be delivered in such a quantity that the subject shouldn't feel the next two chemicals; the second chemical, pancuronium bromide, paralyzes the muscle system; as a way to ensure that death has occurred, potassium chloride is pumped into the veins and stops the heart from breathing. Most inmates are killed, pain free, by anesthesia overdose, respiratory failure, and/or cardiac arrest. In some instances, inmates have been delivered too little anesthesia and writhe in agony when the pancuronium bromide starts to set in.
Electrocution -- Made famous in the TV show, Prison Break, death by electrocution has been around since 1888. Electrocution is a controversial method of killing. If executed properly, electricity should flow through an inmate's shaved head and on throughout the restrained body for 30 seconds. At that time a doctor checks to see if the inmates heart is beating; if it is, prison authorities repeat the electrocution process until the inmate is dead. Some recorded instances have left prisoners defecated, eyes popped out of their head, and a charred and burning smell is commonly left behind in the chamber.
Hanging -- Hanging was the primary method of execution up until the 1890s. A prisoner would have their hands and legs secured, a blindfold should be placed over their eyes, and the noose around their neck. After a trapdoor is released a prisoner's neck should fracture and death should occur shortly after. However, if a prisoner has strong neck muscles or the drop is too short, the prisoner's eyes will pop out, the body will violently thrash about, and defecation will occur. After a period of time, which is unique to each prisoner, asphyxiation should take over and death is announced after the body freely hangs with no movement.
Firing Squad -- The most recent execution by firing squad took place in 2010. An inmate is strapped down to a chair in front of an oval shaped wall. the chair has sandbags that surround it to absorb the blood splatter. A black hood is dropped over the inmates head to prevent the inmate from knowing when the shots will be fired. Five shooters are given a .30 caliber rifles with a single bullet. Four of the five are real, while the fifth one is just a blank. This done to prevent the shooters from knowing who has which bullet. The shooters focus their rifles on the heart of the prisoner and once the shots have been fired, the prisoner dies rather quickly due to rapid blood loss. If any of the shots miss, the blood loss is slowed down resulting in a much more painful death.
Gas Chamber -- Five states still have a gas chamber as means of execution but it is not used often. Similarly to the electric chair, a prisoner should be restrained into a chair inside of an airtight chamber. a bucket of sulfuric acid rests below the chair and once it comes into contact with sodium cyanide, hydrogen cyanide is released into the air. Prisoners are instructed to breathe deeply and slowly to speed up the process, however, some have held their breath which makes the experience exponentially more painful. Death in the gas Chamber is slow compared to the other methods and is quite painful; the eyes pop out of the head, the skins changes color, foaming and drooling of the mouth occur, and the prisoner's body does whatever it can to repel the gas. After the gas overpowers the body, death results from hypoxia (restriction of oxygen to the brain) and the gas is sucked out of the chamber by an exhaust fan and ammonia is sprayed to neutralize any gas left over. After about 30 minutes, orderlies enter the chamber, ruffle the prisoner's to release any extra gas, and then remove the body from the chamber. In 2015, Oklahoma introduced nitrogen gas as an alternative to lethal injection if the drugs couldn't be found.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Should the death penalty be enforced?
Should executions be held in a public setting?
Should there be more creative methods of execution?
Are the methods currently used good enough? Are they too violent?
Does the death penalty violate the 8th Amendment?
Should the execution process be sped up?
Is it an effective deterrent of crime?
The death penalty has been in place for centuries. Ancient Greece used execution under Draco's Code for a wide range of crimes dating as far back as 621 BC. The Tang Dynasty is reported to have hung and decapitated it's people that were convicted of capital offenses starting in the mid 700s. In the United States, 5 main methods of execution have been used: gas chamber, firing squad, lethal injection, hanging, and electrocution. Each of these methods have been widely debated, mainly for their constitutionality with regards to the 8th Amendment, which protects American Citizens from cruel and unusual punishment.
METHODS OF CHOICE
Lethal Injection -- Texas was the first state to use lethal injection, in 1982, to execute Charles Brooks. All 32 states where the death penalty is legal have authorized the use of lethal injection. The lethal injection method uses a 3 chemical cocktail to neutralize the convicted: the first chemical is a powerful anesthetic, sodium thiopental, which should be delivered in such a quantity that the subject shouldn't feel the next two chemicals; the second chemical, pancuronium bromide, paralyzes the muscle system; as a way to ensure that death has occurred, potassium chloride is pumped into the veins and stops the heart from breathing. Most inmates are killed, pain free, by anesthesia overdose, respiratory failure, and/or cardiac arrest. In some instances, inmates have been delivered too little anesthesia and writhe in agony when the pancuronium bromide starts to set in.
Electrocution -- Made famous in the TV show, Prison Break, death by electrocution has been around since 1888. Electrocution is a controversial method of killing. If executed properly, electricity should flow through an inmate's shaved head and on throughout the restrained body for 30 seconds. At that time a doctor checks to see if the inmates heart is beating; if it is, prison authorities repeat the electrocution process until the inmate is dead. Some recorded instances have left prisoners defecated, eyes popped out of their head, and a charred and burning smell is commonly left behind in the chamber.
Hanging -- Hanging was the primary method of execution up until the 1890s. A prisoner would have their hands and legs secured, a blindfold should be placed over their eyes, and the noose around their neck. After a trapdoor is released a prisoner's neck should fracture and death should occur shortly after. However, if a prisoner has strong neck muscles or the drop is too short, the prisoner's eyes will pop out, the body will violently thrash about, and defecation will occur. After a period of time, which is unique to each prisoner, asphyxiation should take over and death is announced after the body freely hangs with no movement.
Firing Squad -- The most recent execution by firing squad took place in 2010. An inmate is strapped down to a chair in front of an oval shaped wall. the chair has sandbags that surround it to absorb the blood splatter. A black hood is dropped over the inmates head to prevent the inmate from knowing when the shots will be fired. Five shooters are given a .30 caliber rifles with a single bullet. Four of the five are real, while the fifth one is just a blank. This done to prevent the shooters from knowing who has which bullet. The shooters focus their rifles on the heart of the prisoner and once the shots have been fired, the prisoner dies rather quickly due to rapid blood loss. If any of the shots miss, the blood loss is slowed down resulting in a much more painful death.
Gas Chamber -- Five states still have a gas chamber as means of execution but it is not used often. Similarly to the electric chair, a prisoner should be restrained into a chair inside of an airtight chamber. a bucket of sulfuric acid rests below the chair and once it comes into contact with sodium cyanide, hydrogen cyanide is released into the air. Prisoners are instructed to breathe deeply and slowly to speed up the process, however, some have held their breath which makes the experience exponentially more painful. Death in the gas Chamber is slow compared to the other methods and is quite painful; the eyes pop out of the head, the skins changes color, foaming and drooling of the mouth occur, and the prisoner's body does whatever it can to repel the gas. After the gas overpowers the body, death results from hypoxia (restriction of oxygen to the brain) and the gas is sucked out of the chamber by an exhaust fan and ammonia is sprayed to neutralize any gas left over. After about 30 minutes, orderlies enter the chamber, ruffle the prisoner's to release any extra gas, and then remove the body from the chamber. In 2015, Oklahoma introduced nitrogen gas as an alternative to lethal injection if the drugs couldn't be found.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Should the death penalty be enforced?
Should executions be held in a public setting?
Should there be more creative methods of execution?
Are the methods currently used good enough? Are they too violent?
Does the death penalty violate the 8th Amendment?
Should the execution process be sped up?
Is it an effective deterrent of crime?