Death Penalty

Briefly imagine yourself as a death row inmate. You have exhausted your final desperate appeals, and there is not a drop of hope left. You are to be executed by lethal injection. During your years on death row, you have heard horrifying stories about the possible pain of the drugs, the lengthy search for a vein for the needles, and the endless possibilities of chemical dosage problems. You know that a licensed physician will not be permitted to execute you. This is lethal injection, and it’s legally carried out in thirty-six out of fifty states in the United States of America. Lethal injection is a state-mandated execution process with insufficient medical thought and contribution supporting it, but on the contrary it holds excessive legal support and contribution. Merely two physicians are reported to have assisted in the formulation of this process. Lawmakers, however, had an enormous contribution. They formulated this process for their needs, with insufficient consideration of the inmate that is being executed. (“When Legislatures” 6) Lethal injection is defined as “a method of executing condemned prisoners through the administration of chemicals that induce death. (“lethal injection 1”)” This definition does not describe the excruciating pain and chemical burns that the chemicals are known to inflict, nor the painstakingly long process of finding not one but two usable veins by which to insert the needles containing the lethal chemicals.

The development of the lethal injection method occurred in a very narrow-minded fashion. It was created for the lawmaker’s purpose, and the lawmaker’s use. Deborah Denno said, “Seemingly oblivious to prior concerns, American lawmakers emphasized that lethal injection appeared more humane and visually palatable relative to other methods. It was also cheaper (“The Lethal” 18).” There were more concerns about the cost and the aesthetics of the method than there were concerns for the medical safety and...