Capital Punishment Essay

Capital Punishment in America

In recent news there has been a highly controversial issue regarding the use of capital punishment. Studies have shown that the newest form of punishment to those on death row may not be as beneficial and painless as once thought. Lethal injection could in fact be excruciatingly painful to the inmates that are put through it. This form of punishment took the place of the electric chair back in the 1970’s as the best form of execution. Those against capital punishment are still criticizing the use of lethal injection today along with any other form of execution. So it all comes down to what is morally and ethically right or wrong and the question still rises. Do you believe that capital punishment is the right way in today’s society?

According to Chris and Krueger from the St. Petersburg Times December 13, 2006 “One of the worst botched executions in history took place in December, 2006. Angel Diaz was convicted of murder of a bar owner in 1979 and was sentenced to death. He was given the lethal injection on December 13. Something went terribly wrong during the execution however. During a lethal injection, the inmate is first injected with sodium thiopental which puts them to sleep. Then pancuronium bromide is given which paralyzes the entire muscle system and stops the inmate’s breathing. Last is a flow of potassium chloride which stops the heart (par. 1). Diaz remained alive during his execution for 34 minutes, which is 3 times longer than usual. A reporter there stated that Diaz struggled to breathe for 11 minutes. Then it was over.

Experts say that whoever administered the injection could have punctured the vein and the chemicals could have been put into his flesh rather than the blood stream. If they were put straight into his blood stream they would have reached his heart much faster. Instead he probably went through intense chemical burns and excruciating pain before finally dying. Because of this, lethal injection is...