Convicted murderer takes 34 minutes to die during execution.

[Snowguy716]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/14/diaz.exe...n.ap/index.html

I think this is just sick. There is no humane or justifiable way to kill someone, including those that have killed themselves.

I find it quite interesting that only one of the twelve states with no death penalty has a murder rate above the national average. The average murder rate for death penalty states in 2005 was 5.3, while it was only 2.8 in states with no death penalty.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.ph...12..MRreg#MRord

[Pillsbury]

^ Yeah and I bet the states that don't have the death penalty have a higher standard of life in general than the ones that do. I think that speaks a lot. The death penalty does not work and should be abolished on a national level.

[Captain Worley]

I see more correlation between lower murder rates and cool climates than anything else (Hawaii being the exception).

[Snowguy716]

Interesting: Murder and weather.

Maybe the hot weather does aggravate people more. I get very crabby on hot days and while I don't murder anyone, I can see how if you were driven to the edge, that discomfort might push you over.

Hawaii may be the exception because of the rather constant warm (not hot) climate there.

That still doesn't make the death penalty justifiable, in my opinion.

Could we then blame increased murder rates on global warming?

[Captain Worley]

YEAH!!! Global Warming Killers will be the next new defense.

[suburban george3]

I'm not going to be popular in this thread, be it my conservative upbringing or my "eye for and eye" view of things at times, I am still not against the death penalty completely. I feel there are circumstances and crimes where it is warranted. Keeping some of these "monsters" in prison for life is doing nothing more but adding an extra financial burden to society.

That being said however, there has to be some major judicial overhauls to ensure that death penalty cases are treated fairly.

on a side note, I don't think the "GWK" theory would get very far with a jury!

[runawayjim]

i think the death penalty needs to be abolished... it's much worse to rot in prison for the rest of your life than it is to die. but the problem is that there's too many crimes that people go to prison for that they shouldn't, making the prison system over-crowded. legalize drugs, or at least decriminalize them, and we'll have a whole ton of extra room in the prisons. then they can do away with the death penalty and those people can learn what it's like to really pay. and don't allow them visitors.

[Captain Worley]

I worked in a prison as a teacher for four semesters, and I didn't meet a single person there that didn't deserve to be there. I'm not saying there aren't any, but it is a teeny, tiny, miniscule percentage.

I'm with SG3 on this one. I support the death penalty.

That guy had a botched execution, but I'd bet money it was a lot more humane than his victim got.

[dgreco]

i think the death penalty needs to be abolished... it's much worse to rot in prison for the rest of your life than it is to die. but the problem is that there's too many crimes that people go to prison for that they shouldn't, making the prison system over-crowded. legalize drugs, or at least decriminalize them, and we'll have a whole ton of extra room in the prisons. then they can do away with the death penalty and those people can learn what it's like to really pay. and don't allow them visitors.

[runawayjim]

If you decriminalize drugs, which I am not opposed to, you have to have some sort of systems where halfway homes, rehab centers and hospitals have stronger standards or methods to help these people and clean them.

[dgreco]

think of all the tax money.

you also have to remember that studies show that in places where marijuana is legal (like amsterdam), use is down, except by americans who go just to smoke.

[nowensone]

Depends on what you are legalizing - almost no pot smokers are violent, some of the other drugs however can cause violent behavior just to afford them, and no sane person is going to legalize crack or meth and as the argument goes, make them affordable.

As to 34 minutes and a botched execution, the article clearly states he needed a second dose, which was anticipated, because of his lever problems, and that the execution normally takes 15 minutes which is still a long time, so I wouldn't pick out this as some extreme case.

I am for the death penalty when it makes sense, serial killers being one example, I don't care how inhumane it is, but Diaz was convicted on what sounds like circumstantial evidence only, and simply the testimony of his girlfriend that he was "involved". In these cases I am against the use of the death penalty because it is far from certain, or proven, that he committed the crime.

[Snowguy716]

If there is going to be a death penalty (in which case I have no control over it), then I would say it should only be used in extreme cases where there is forensic evidence plus witnesses that you commited the crime. It is possible that DNA and other things can be planted, so you need a back-up method. If there is a bit of DNA around the area where the person was murdered and absolutely no one saw the murder or someone else vouches for you being somewhere else, you should not be put to death because there is even the tiniest chance that you didn't do it.

I also don't think mentally ill people should be eligible for the death penalty.

Other problems with our criminal justice system that need good, clear solutions (not just reversals): Trying so many teens as adults. I've heard of 12 year olds being tried as adults.

The same people that judge a 12-year-old as mature enough to have committed a crime, but not mature enough to buy a beer or vote or even serve in the military need their heads screwed on tighter.

We need to legalize certain drugs. If I can buy sleeping pills and take them to help me sleep or have drugs prescribed to me to take pain away, there is absolutely no reason that mild drugs like marijuana shouldn't be legal. There is no valid argument for the further illegalization of marijuana, unless you're willing to make tobacco and alcohol and most other drugs illegal as well (because they can harm you when you take them).

We need to stop throwing people into jail for so long for drug use. These people need treatment, not punishment. Most prosecutors will negotiate down to treatment as long as you stay clean afterward, but some with political aspirations will seek maximum sentences to look tough on crime so they can elevate themselves in the political system. The war on drugs needs to end.

If people were actually sent to prison for harsh crimes and not for piddly stuff like doing drugs (as long as they didn't hurt others while doing drugs), we wouldn't have such a bad overcrowding problem.

This country has more people in prison per capita than any other developed nation int he world, and it's not because we have bad behavior.

[MadVlad]

I think we need more cases where the Death Penalty applies. People that have done horrible things and are in prison for consecutive life terms should be put to death. Some people just do bad enough things that they deserve death. Unpopular opinion? Maybe, but if you do something so bad that human being couldn't live long enough to serve the sentence, then death is the answer...

[runawayjim]

I think we need more cases where the Death Penalty applies. People that have done horrible things and are in prison for consecutive life terms should be put to death. Some people just do bad enough things that they deserve death. Unpopular opinion? Maybe, but if you do something so bad that human being couldn't live long enough to serve the sentence, then death is the answer...

[JDC]

Liver disease = super strength against lethal drugs? I'm gonna look into getting that.

I bet the guy didn't do it. He maintained his innocence. Don't the truly guilty usually apologize to the families of their victims shortly before their executions?

[waccamatt]

^ Yeah and I bet the states that don't have the death penalty have a higher standard of life in general than the ones that do. I think that speaks a lot. The death penalty does not work and should be abolished on a national level.

[Cadeho]

Call me old fashioned, but I'd like to see gallows return with public hangings! Cruel and unusal punishment and stocks!

[tamias6]

I'll probably get flamed for the rest of my life on this. But why should I waste my tax dollars on the upkeep of a convicted murderer/ cerial killer/ rapist/ pedaphile thug. What good is a deranged criminal that sits behind bars for the rest of his life? The answer is nothing. Anybody that murders in cold blood is no good to society and just as we do to wild and out of control dogs, any thug like that should be put down.

As for the 34 minutes for the convicted murderer to die, I say "Good". He deserves every slow minute of the pain and suffering he was subjected to before the onset of death. After all, think of the pain and suffering that he brought onto his victim, and his/her friends and family. In essence, its an eye for an eye.

I'm just sick and tired of the media siding with criminals and the bubble headed activists holding their stupid candle light vigals for the condemned when it should be the victum and the victum's friends and family that needs the support.

[dgreco]

I'll probably get flamed for the rest of my life on this. But why should I waste my tax dollars on the upkeep of a convicted murderer/ cerial killer/ rapist/ pedaphile thug. What good is a deranged criminal that sits behind bars for the rest of his life? The answer is nothing. Anybody that murders in cold blood is no good to society and just as we do to wild and out of control dogs, any thug like that should be put down.

As for the 34 minutes for the convicted murderer to die, I say "Good". He deserves every slow minute of the pain and suffering he was subjected to before the onset of death. After all, think of the pain and suffering that he brought onto his victim, and his/her friends and family. In essence, its an eye for an eye.

I'm just sick and tired of the media siding with criminals and the bubble headed activists holding their stupid candle light vigals for the condemned when it should be the victum and the victum's friends and family that needs the support.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

It would take generations to fix that problem though, for americans to not abuse drugs, and drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, etc... those are not good for a society period. I can see legalized marijuana, even some hallucinogens ( mcmd, shrooms?) idk, but complete legalization seems like a slippery slope to me.

[dgreco]

Legalize everything. Much fewer non-violent people will be in prison and people should be able to choose for themselves if they want to use something or not. The facts are that alcohol and nicotine are worse for you than even some of the hardcore drugs.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Facts: 1) Nicotine is more addictive than cocaine and heroin. 2) Alcohol is involved in more violence and family problems than other drugs. 3) The middle class uses the most (number wise) of the illegal hardcore drugs and they lead productive lives. 4) Tobacco causes nearly a million deaths annually. There are more...

So, we should tax the hell out of these drugs and use that money to fund efforts for abuse recovery and medical care. That way, only the abusers pay the cost and the underground economy, which has killed many of our cities, collapses. Right now, we pay the cost of the war on drugs, the cost of problems derived from prohibition, and the human cost, and financial cost, of having people locked away for non-violent crimes.

All of this is coming from someone who has never drank, or smoked.

[dgreco]

Facts: 1) Nicotine is more addictive than cocaine and heroin. 2) Alcohol is involved in more violence and family problems than other drugs. 3) The middle class uses the most (number wise) of the illegal hardcore drugs and they lead productive lives. 4) Tobacco causes nearly a million deaths annually. There are more...

So, we should tax the hell out of these drugs and use that money to fund efforts for abuse recovery and medical care. That way, only the abusers pay the cost. Right now, we pay the cost of the war on drugs and the human cost, and financial cost, of having people locked away for non-violent crimes.

All of this is coming from someone who has never drank, or smoked.

[runawayjim]

I don't disagree with addiction, I disagree with the impacts these drugs have on families, while alcohol may cause more problems, look at in, in a "per capita" view, that will change the numbers. I don't see how you can discount the fact that heavy drugs cause issues, and also believe they should be legalized.