CAPITAL PUNISHMENT/means and methods

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; MEANS AND METHODS 

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OVERVIEW: 

Terms & Definitions

Capital punishment

Capital punishment refers to the process of sentencing convicted offenders to death for the most serious crimes (capital crimes) and carrying out that sentence. The specific offenses and circumstances that determine if a crime is eligible for a death sentence are defined by statute and are prescribed by Congress or any state legislature.

Death row

Death row refers to incarcerated persons who have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution (as in "inmates on death row"). Historically, death row was a slang term that referred to the area of a prison in which prisoners who were under a sentence of death were housed. Usage of the term continues despite the fact that many states do not maintain a separate unit or facility for condemned inmates

MEANS AND MATTERS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

1. hanging

2. execution

3. gas chamber

4. firing squad

THE "5" CAPITAL OFFENSES

1. murder

2. kidnapping

3. rape

4. treason

5. assault that escalates to rape

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DISCUSSION OF HOW MEANS/MATTERS ARE CARRIED OUT; both

drawbacks, and assessing efficacy and pain

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1. LETHAL INJECTION: First introduced in 1977; first adopted at

such time. 1982 the first lethal injection was carried out in 

Oklahoma. This process commences by bringing in the inmate,

strapped to a bed, with two monitors attached to the heart area.

Two needles are inserted into predetermined veins. Those needles

are connected by tubes that connect needles through a brick.

The first chemical, a harmless, saline solution, is then pushed into

the body. There are a combination of sedatives given to the 

inmate after the saline. before the final administration of sodium

chloride; which stops the heart.

  In the cases in which there is one drug administered, verses

a combination of different drugs, some states have adopted a

one drug vs. three drug concoction. Essentially, in such cases,

patient is overdosed with penobarbitrol.It starts with a sedating

feature that paralyzes all the muscles in the body. Eventually,

the inmate passes away, after falling asleep, of an overdose of

the administered drug itself; resulting in the death of the heart 

while still conscious.

2. ELECTROCUTION: New York built the first "electric chair" in 

1880. It was first used two years later in 1890. The prisoner is

typically shaved on legs, arms, as well as head. This helps the 

electric flow to be more efficient.  Normal, the prisoner, post

shaving, they are strapped to the chair with restraint belts across

their chest, groin area, legs, and arms. A metal "skull cap"

 that is also applied; in addition to a moist saline sponge placed

underneath. There is a an electrode placed on the calf of the

prisoner as well. A jolt of 500 to 2000 volts is given that lasts

30 seconds. After a period of approximately five minutes, a doctor

will then take the pulse of the prisoner . If he has no pulse, he is

declared dead and the execution is over. However, if the prisoner

after said time period, still has a pulse, the entire process as

mentioned above, is repeated.  Unlike the first means of execution,

this particular method is not without its somewhat gruesome 

unintended consequences. Previously, in prior executions,

there have been instances where the prisoner's eyeballs fell

out, times a prisoner a vomited, times, when blood has come out

of the prisoner's mouth.

3. GAS CHAMBER: introduced in 1924, was cyanide gas. In its

initially phases of implementing this death, nitrogen gas would be 

released into the cell of a prisoner while he was sleeping.

In the gas chamber, death is not immediate. For wardens,

sheriff's and Correctional Staff, who have witnessed such 

executions, they noted some of the frightening side effects of the

gas, on a prisoner, as he/she was dying. These officially noted

"eyes popping", prisoners turning purple, prisoner's vomiting,

and even uncontrollable drooling. This gas is administered for

a period of minutes. After the passing of 30 minutes, once the

prison has been declared, by a doctor, to be deceased, staff

would first, in all Haz Mat gear, complete with gas masks , to 

clean out the gas chamber. Additionally, the prisoner's body

itself is sprayed thoroughly with ammonia to counteract

the contaminant. 

 

   In April of 2015, death, by nitrogen gas was ruled an 

acceptable alternative to lethal injection if the necessary drugs

for lethal injection are not available.

 

  During the process of the prisoner inhaling the nitrogen gas,

the prisoner is slowly being deprived of oxygen. Deaths are 

ruled as suffocation by oxygen deprivation.

4. FIRING SQUAD: In March of 2015, in Utah, it was 

re-authorized as a viable manner of execution. However, this

means of death was only deemed appropriate if the proper

drugs, for lethal injection cannot be obtained.

 

  This process of execution is carried out by placing the prisoner

in a chair, bound to the chair with a leather strap over waist

and upper torso. The prison while bound to chair is surrounded

in all directions by sandbags. A blindfold and hood are placed

over the prisoner's eyes and head. Typically, by law, there are 

required to be thee sharp shooters present, using .30 caliber

bullets (each of the three receives one bullet). Out of all three

shooters, each had a round in the chamber. 1/3 has a blank;

2/3 shoot with deadly precision. This is done so that the sharp

shooters themselves do not know why had the live rounds

and who had the blank. The prisoner eventually bleeds out,

their blood, which is the the sandbags are there; to absorb the

blood loss.

5. HANGING: In our earliest history, hanging was the main method

preferred/used for executions. Prisoners would be weighed the

day of their execution. A "rehearsal hanging" was done using

bricks of the same weight as the prisoner. The purpose of 

rehearsal was to best gage the length of the drop, and the 

making death happen as quickly as possible.

  

    A knot is tied and placed around prisoner's neck. The rope

itself was formerly "sufficiently lubricated"; to ensure a 

"smoother" execution. Once the rope is sufficiently been

fastened to the prisoner's neck, with a loop off slightly to

the left side, a trap door would open up, and the prisoner,

with rope around their neck, would simply drop through the

opening shoot. 

 

  Typically, the prisoner's weight alone, should cause rapid

fractures or dislocation of the neck; resulting in death. This

method was fraught with horrors, decapitations, and, in modern

eras, was stopped altogether; as it had failed to deliver any

reliable data over the course of its use.