Executions suspended in Florida and California

[Joe Republic]

Link: CNN


Executions halted in 2 states after botched injection

POSTED: 10:34 p.m. EST, December 15, 2006


OCALA, Florida (AP) -- Gov. Jeb Bush suspended executions in Florida after a medical examiner said Friday that prison officials botched the insertion of the needles when a convicted killer was put to death earlier this week.

Separately, a federal judge in California imposed a moratorium on executions in the nation's most populous state, declaring that the state's method of lethal injection runs the risk of violating the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.


[continued...]

[??????????]

I could see suspending them if we were euthanising dogs/cats/horses. I mean, those animals really shouldn't suffer if they are being put down. But murderous criminals? Nah, let the bastards suffer.

[Joe Republic]

I'll be in favor of ending executions of guilty murderers as soon as we put a stop to murder.  And not a day sooner.

I prefer giving them a real punishment, and not an easy escape.

[Platypus]

Quite frankly, I don't want to be a murderer, and I don't want the government, as representive of myself to murder either.

[??????????]

Quite frankly, I don't want to be a murderer, and I don't want the government, as representive of myself to murder either.

Executing a murderer isn't murder. It's called serving justice.

mur·der  [mur-der]
–noun
1.   Law. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law. In the U.S., special statutory definitions include murder committed with malice aforethought, characterized by deliberation or premeditation or occurring during the commission of another serious crime, as robbery or arson (first-degree murder), and murder by intent but without deliberation or premeditation (second-degree murder).

jus·tice  [juhs-tis]
–noun
1.   the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.
2.   rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.
3.   the moral principle determining just conduct.
4.   conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment.
5.   the administering of deserved punishment or reward.
6.   the maintenance or administration of what is just by law, as by judicial or other proceedings: a court of justice.
7.   judgment of persons or causes by judicial process: to administer justice in a community.

[??????????]

I'll be in favor of ending executions of guilty murderers as soon as we put a stop to murder.  And not a day sooner.

I prefer giving them a real punishment, and not an easy escape.

Yeah, a jail cell with three square meals a day, workouts, tvs, libraries..damn thats a hard punishment.

I'm sure a man who rapes a little girl, burys her underground alive and tortured her deserves to spend the rest of his life being protecting in a nice jail cell. (John Couey) Sorry, that son of a bitch deserves to have nothing less then a rope strung around his neck and his sorry ass swinging from a tree somewhere.

[Sam Spade]

The California suspension is a game being played between federal courts.  Basically, a District Court judge suspends the death penalty, the 9th Circuit affirms his ruling and then the USSC, Justice Kennedy normally, strikes down the ruling as being not based on precedent.  It is rather unimportant.

The Florida suspension is much more important legally, as it could last a while, though probably when they have the bugs worked out, the death penalty will be back (I don't see Crist stopping that)

However, I really don't see what's wrong with a convicted murderer suffering a good bit during his lawful execution.  It's what he deserves.

[RBH]

Yeah, Jeb really doesn't wanna run for President.

[Joe Republic]

I'll be in favor of ending executions of guilty murderers as soon as we put a stop to murder.  And not a day sooner.

I prefer giving them a real punishment, and not an easy escape.

Yeah, a jail cell with three square meals a day, workouts, tvs, libraries..damn thats a hard punishment.

You assume that I'd be happy with that arrangement.  My ideal image of prison is something akin to those found in Bangkok.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

And for that, the Bangkok-style prison with a nice little dark hole cut off from all human contact.  That'd be real nice for a piece of work like him.

The point of justice is to make the criminal suffer, often for as long as possible.  Not to give them a few minutes of pain and then an escape from it all.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I could see suspending them if we were euthanising dogs/cats/horses. I mean, those animals really shouldn't suffer if they are being put down. But murderous criminals? Nah, let the bastards suffer.

I agree.  When did you come back?

[Ebowed]

Sorry, that son of a bitch deserves to have nothing less then a rope strung around his neck and his sorry ass swinging from a tree somewhere.

What century is this again?

[HardRCafé]

I'll be in favor of ending executions of guilty murderers as soon as we put a stop to murder.  And not a day sooner.

You can't legislate morality because people are just going to commit murder anyway.

[Ebowed]

I'll be in favor of ending executions of guilty murderers as soon as we put a stop to murder.  And not a day sooner.

You can't legislate morality because people are just going to commit murder anyway.

That's really brilliant.  Why not repeal the laws against murder then, if that's your position?

He's a Republican who presumably agrees with you and is being sarcastic.

[HardRCafé]

He's a Republican who presumably agrees with you and is being sarcastic.

Bless you, wise one.

[AkSaber]

I'm sure a man who rapes a little girl, burys her underground alive and tortured her deserves to spend the rest of his life being protecting in a nice jail cell. (John Couey) Sorry, that son of a bitch deserves to have nothing less then a rope strung around his neck and his sorry ass swinging from a tree somewhere.

My thoughts exactly!! Well, I'd say either give that slime bag the electric chair, or take him to the zoo and toss him in the lion pit.

Maybe sick Leatherface on him.

[Gabu]

I'm sure a man who rapes a little girl, burys her underground alive and tortured her deserves to spend the rest of his life being protecting in a nice jail cell. (John Couey) Sorry, that son of a bitch deserves to have nothing less then a rope strung around his neck and his sorry ass swinging from a tree somewhere.

My thoughts exactly!! Well, I'd say either give that slime bag the electric chair, or take him to the zoo and toss him in the lion pit.

Maybe sick Leatherface on him.

In China they use one single bullet in the guy's brain as an execution method and then charge the guy's family for the cost of the bullet.

I've never quite understood why North American executions need to cost so much, in light of this fact...

[Alcon]

A question to those who support the death penalty for the catharsis of seeing a murderer killed:

What is more important: your personal pleasure from seeing a life taken in punishment, or punishing someone in a way that is less pleasant and allows their release if they turn out to be innocent?

Feel free to attack me for false dichotomy.

[AkSaber]

In China they use one single bullet in the guy's brain as an execution method and then charge the guy's family for the cost of the bullet.

I've never quite understood why North American executions need to cost so much, in light of this fact...

Ah, we could charge them for the cost of a chainsaw chain and for having to clean the chainsaw afterwards.

A question to those who support the death penalty for the catharsis of seeing a murderer killed:

What is more important: your personal pleasure from seeing a life taken in punishment, or punishing someone in a way that is less pleasant and allows their release if they turn out to be innocent?

Feel free to attack me for false dichotomy.

Hmmm. Interesting question. I guess I'm more for a punishment that will make 100% sure that evil criminals will never hurt anyone again. My intense dislike for rapists and child predators must be a holdover from my days as a conservative.

[Kevin]

A question to those who support the death penalty for the catharsis of seeing a murderer killed:

What is more important: your personal pleasure from seeing a life taken in punishment, or punishing someone in a way that is less pleasant and allows their release if they turn out to be innocent?

Feel free to attack me for false dichotomy.

It is about setting an example meaning this is what you will  get if you commit a violent crime which results in the loss of a life. Also it is for the relief of the family of the victim knowing that the guilty person is gone for ever. Also it is saying criminal actions that hurt somebody else have serious consequnces.   

[Frodo]

A question to those who support the death penalty for the catharsis of seeing a murderer killed:

What is more important: your personal pleasure from seeing a life taken in punishment, or punishing someone in a way that is less pleasant and allows their release if they turn out to be innocent?

Feel free to attack me for false dichotomy.

My personal pleasure in seeing justice served.  And I would prefer to use execution methods discarded over the past half-century.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

My personal pleasure in seeing justice served.  And I would prefer to use execution methods discarded over the past half-century.

That's disgusting.

[Everett]

A question to those who support the death penalty for the catharsis of seeing a murderer killed:

What is more important: your personal pleasure from seeing a life taken in punishment, or punishing someone in a way that is less pleasant and allows their release if they turn out to be innocent?

Feel free to attack me for false dichotomy.

My personal pleasure in seeing justice served.  And I would prefer to use execution methods discarded over the past half-century.

What, do you have some kind of torture fetish?

[Beet]

I guess I'm more for a punishment that will make 100% sure that evil criminals will never hurt anyone again.

Are there statistics on how many convicts have escaped from life imprisonment/solitary confinement and escaped to kill again? It seems like an unlikely proposition.

[Frodo]

My personal pleasure in seeing justice served.  And I would prefer to use execution methods discarded over the past half-century.

That's disgusting.

Wouldn't you feel immense pleasure and satisfaction watching a man who butchered his mom, raped his baby sister, and then cut them into little pieces, and froze them in a freezer swinging from the gallows on a wire or being fried in an electric chair?  I would. 

My personal pleasure in seeing justice served.  And I would prefer to use execution methods discarded over the past half-century.

What, do you have some kind of torture fetish?

What, do you have some sort of attraction to convicted murderers?   

[Emsworth]

In general, I would argue that the death penalty should be reserved for extraordinary situations such as wars. If, for example, someone were convicted of spying during wartime, then it would be perfectly justifiable to kill him: he would be no different from any other military casualty. Likewise, I think that the circumstances of a murderer already serving a life sentence, and committing a second crime while in prison, qualify as exceptional enough to merit capital punishment.

But in normal circumstances, I'd say that capital punishment is generally unjustifiable, primarily because too many innocent people tend to be executed. I think that the fact that someone is guilty of murdering another is insufficient--I'd say that there must be something more, in order to justify the deprivation of life.

That said, the suspension of executions in California by a federal judge is unjustified and contrary to the law.