Omnes Sancti et Sanctæ Coreæ, orate pro nobis.

Now Blogging Afresh at Ad Orientem 西儒 - The Western Confucian



Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Cruel, Unusual, and Antiseptic
From Prisoners Gain in Suit Attacking Lethal Injection*:
    The focus of concern is two of the three chemicals that make up the lethal cocktail used by most states. One is sodium pentothal, an anesthetic, which Mr. Hill argues in his lawsuit is insufficient to make the procedure painless.

    The second is pancuronium bromide, which causes muscle paralysis but does not block pain or interfere with consciousness. Studies indicate that while inmates who receive this drug look calm and peaceful as the third chemical, potassium chloride, is administered to stop the heart, they can actually feel intense pain without being able to express themselves.
Such a clinical method of execution might appear humane, but in reality it is dehumanizing in the extreme, for the very fact that it is so clean, sterile, and antiseptic. The same can be said of earlier attempts at "humane" execution, like the guillotine and the electric chair.

We call our ancestors barbaric because they attended public executions, yet we are content to let them be carried out in our name, in private, just as long as they are held in sanitary rooms and we don't have to watch or even think about them.

If I had my choice, I'd like to think I'd choose the firing squad or even hanging, preferably with an audience and definitely with a priest present.

*Use BugMeNot.com to bypass registration.