Firing Squad And Inmate example essay topic

Hanging, the firing squad, the gas chamber, the electric chair, lethal injection; these are some present methods of the death penalty. Capital punishment has been used in America for a long time, and has always presented conflicts. There are many groups that protest capital punishment, and there are many groups that are for it. The controversies it presents have to do with the cost, if it is humane, or if it is moral.

With all of these problems taken into consideration, it is clear to anyone that capital punishment is the wrong choice. The early forms of the death penalty were not only much less humane than they are now, but much more cruel and unusual. Hanging, one of the earliest forms, is actually still used in 3 states a sone form of capital punishment. The inmate would not get blindfolded, unlike most methods, then they would stand on a stool or box. A noose would then be wrapped, and tightened, around their neck. The box or stool is then kicked out from under the inmate, and onlookers watch in anticipation while the inmate suffocates to death.

In some cases, the inmate's neck would break, instantly killing him. (Baird 22) Other early forms of capital punishment were the guillotine and the firing squad. Both of these methods used blindfolds. For the guillotine, the inmate would lay down on their back under a huge blade hanging above their neck.

The executioner would then cut a rope, releasing the blade that then slices through the inmate's neck, decapitating him. For the firing squad, and inmate would be led to a chair in front of a brick wall. A trained firing squad then lines up in front of the inmate. The firing squad then fires their guns at a target on the inmate's chest. To relieve the guilt of the squad, some of their guns were loaded with blanks, so no one could know if they were the ones who killed the man. The guillotine is not used anymore, but the firing squad is still used in a few states.

Anyone can see why these methods are not used as much anymore. (Baird 21) Now to the real controversies. Most people do not realize these inhumane methods of capital punishment are still being used, but the more controversial ones are the methods everyone knows about. One of the older current methods is he electric chair. The electric chair is not the most controversial, even though it is the least humane of the widely used practices. The first observer of an electric chair execution thought, "The job could have been done better with an axe".

One execution, in 1990, took three separate two-thousand volt charges to kill Jesse Tafe ro. Fire, smoke, and sparks were reported flying out of his head. (Guernsey 53) The electric chair is also inhumane because of the things that could happen while surging. The electrodes that are attached to the skin can reach up to one-thousand-nine-hundred degrees fahrenheit, and have to be fastened on again if they burn through the skin while the prisoner is still alive.

The charge is so powerful, it could bring the brain to a boiling point. While the prisoner is being executed their eyeballs can pop out of their skull, they vomit blood and saliva, lose control of bodily functions, and have involuntary jerks and cringes. When the body is being prepared for a coffin, it must be bent out of a contorted body into a straight body. (Guernsey 53) A newer method of the death penalty is the gas chamber. In an execution using lethal gas, the prisoner is restrained and sealed in an airtight chamber. When the signal is given, the executioner opens a valve, allowing hydrochloric acid to flow into a pan.

On the next signal, either potassium cyanide or sodium cyanide crystals are dropped mechanically into the acid, making hydrocyanic gas. If the inmate takes a deep breath, he will fall unconscious quickly, but if he holds his breath, he will suffer a long, painful death. He will go into wild convulsions, while losing control of bodily functions. Afterward, the body can be found covered in excrement and blood. Their eyeballs can pop out of their sockets, and the bodies are contorted; much like the electric chair, this practice is very disturbing. (Bob it 1) The newest and most popular form of capital punishment is lethal injection.

It is also the most controversial method. People do not like lethal injection because they do not know how it feels. Inmates could be dying a slow, painful death by suffocation, or they could be falling asleep, and dying peacefully. Since the first drug injected paralyzes them, no one can know for sure.

Even a small error in dosage could have the prisoner conscious, yet paralyzed, while dying. (Williams 45) Some believe lethal injection is humane by the look of it. It looks like a peaceful execution. A calm inmate lays down on a comfortable bed. He is seemingly at rest, and he falls asleep. It appears that he dies peacefully of natural causes.

What really happens is a prisoner is strapped down to a bed so get cannot move. He then gets paralyzed so no one knows if he is suffocating or not. His heart then stops, while people watch happily, as he loses the rest of his dignity. (Williams 46) Of course, there is always some kind of malfunction while executing someone. If the inmate has a history of drug use, it may be difficult to locate the vein.

The inmate could also have rolling veins, making it harder to get the needle in the vein. If there is a malfunction I the machine, the inmate could be forced to wait more than an hour to die, laying on his death bed. (Williams 45) Groups that are not focused on any certain method have good reason to disagree with capital punishment. They say it does not effectively stop serious crime, or alleviate the fear of violent crimes.

It also doesn't better safe guard the people, or restore friendship between victims. (Williams 50) A big reason in most groups is they don't think we should play God. They believe that it is not imposed with fairness, it falls disproportionately on racial and ethnic minorities and poor. It also is not imposed in such a way as to prevent the execution of innocent death row inmates. Most of all, it does not protect society any better than life in prison without parole. (Doyle 1) Most people are against life in jail they think it costs more to keep someone alive, than killing them.

In reality, the death penalty can cost three times what a taxpayer pays to keep a person in prison for life. The fist stage of the appeal itself costs about $1.8 million per case. In Kansas, it costs eleven- million dollars a year just to keep it running. It is not the actual execution that costs so much. The many and lengthy appeals, isolation, and security cost most. One murderer, John Spenkelink, cost Florida between five and seven million dollars by the time he was executed in 1979.

(Guernsey 59) No one really knows what any execution feels like, or what the family goes through until it happens to them. Although, we do know how much it costs. The thing is that people are saying that it is bad because it is not a good death, bad things could happen, or family and friends are upset. The person who is being executed at least killed one person Do people really think a murderer deserves a quiet, nice painless death? Obviously if he is being executed nowadays he is a bad person. Theyd o not deserve our sympathy at all.

On top of that, the only thing killing someone does is stoop tother level, and do exactly what we are trying to stop. Also, it wastes our money on lawyers and court fees. Any way you look at it, capital punishment should be done away with, and put to death.

Bibliography

Baird, Robert M and Rosenbaum, Stuart E, eds. Punishment and the Death Penalty. New York: Prometheus Books, 1995 Doyle, Kevin.
No Defense: A Catholic Lawyer Argues Against the Death Penalty". U.S. Catholic. Aug 1999: 18-23 Guernsey, Jo Ann B, Should We Have Capital Punishment.
Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1993"Methods of Execution - Gas Chamber".
Death Row. 20 Apr 2004.
Williams, Mary E, ed. Capital Punishment. San Diego: Green haven Press, 2000.