Ohio man first US person executed by single injection

[ccharles000]

The US state of Ohio has become the first in the country to carry out an execution with a single-drug injection, instead of a combination of three.

Kenneth Biros, 51, was put to death after the US Supreme Court denied his final appeal.

Biros had been convicted of the murder of a 22-year-old woman in 1991.

The new method was introduced because of concerns that prisoners could suffer extreme pain if the first of the usual three drugs fails to work effectively.

Critics say the method - which uses a dose of thiopental sodium and can take twice as long to take effect - is human experimentation. Officials deny that.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8401147.stm

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Maybe we could forgo the executions altogether and just imprison them for life?

[lpbk2713]

4. DP is more cost effective.

Nine out of ten bean counters approve.



:sarcasm:

[hlthe2b]

6. Not so... Every study I've seen shows DP with cost of appeals...

to far exceed life sentences.

[Freddie Stubbs]

15. Then reduce the number of appeals allowed

[hlthe2b]

17. Given recent documentation of the likely execution of innocents...

I'd think most people would argue for assurance of justice over efficiency, if we are to have a DP. Of course the "vengeance above all" crowd might not and they have pushed for more stringent restrictions on appeals-- some that have meant the courts inability to hear an appeal because of a highly technical issue (judge refused to stay 30 seconds late to receive the documents for appeal, for example).

I'd like to think we would be extremely fearful of making a mistake and our policy would reflect that... Do you not agree, Freddie S?

[951-Riverside]

12. Fast forward 15-20 years from now and we'll see people saying life in prison is cruel punishment

There are many countries like Mexico who do not sentence people to life in prison.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment#World_view

[Occam Bandage]

2. I don't know much about this particular topic, so I'll ask.

Why not just give a slowly increasing morphine dose until the heart stops?

[dysfunctional press]

3. but how would someone dying without pain give justice to the victim's family?

:sarcasm:

[Warpy]

5. Morphine isn't that efficient

and would work by suppressing the respiratory drive. Thiopental is a much more reliable central depressant, causing unconsciousness first, then shutting down the part of the brain governing autonomic function.

I would still rather they spend life in prison.

I'm absolutely thrilled that my state, the Wild West in so many other ways, abandoned the DP last spring.

[reign100]

8. Well that answers that

Good info thanks.

[Occam Bandage]

9. So you have to use a bit more of it,

but wouldn't it get rid of a lot of the concerns about cruelty? Again, I really have no idea here, I'm just trying to understand.

[hlthe2b]

11. Yes... Warpy is right...

While they are maintaining this to be "experimental," thiopental (sodium pentothal) has been used as an anesthetic for years. This reflects only an overdose of the drug so that the anesthesia level is maximized and irreversible. Not something that hasn't unintentionally happened in patients for many years. While I am opposed to the DP on many grounds, this is a form of execution that I would find difficult to argue "cruel and inhumane" on any grounds. It is, after all, the way in which veterinarians have long eased the suffering of dying pets and I can attest to how peaceful and pain-free the death produced... Whether such a "kind" death is going to assuage those in society who want painful retribution, is another story...

[reign100]

7. Good question

My guess would be it's probably too expensive? Honestly I don't know why you wouldn't do something like that. It's not like they are putting that many people to death that it could be ridiculously costly. Who knows what these people are thinking, maybe it is just a way to experiment, wouldn't put it past them.

[hlthe2b]

13. Morphine would open up another hornets nest, being so readily

abused and thus tempting for those who might wish to steal for black market purposes. It also is far more variable in its dose-threshold effects in healthy individuals, but yes, it could be an alternative, but one I doubt would be considered. Na Pentothal is a long used drug for euthanasia in animals, as well as an anesthetic in humans and animals with many decades of history and experience. It may be less cost effective than three-drug protocol, but certainly more humane (as long as you can maintain a good vein for administration).

[Occam Bandage]

14. Thanks for the information. nt

[Lex]

10. Aren't we grand?

sheesh

[Rebubula]

16. Maybe not grand...

...but still better than the asshole that murdered and chopped up a young woman.

Though I lament that the state has the power to kill people in the name of the law, I do not weep for people that commit such horrid crimes. I am able to fully rationalize that one.

Of course, then I think of the Texas man that was wrongly executed and I have to struggle to find a rationalization...

[Lex]

18. I don't weep for people who commit such crimes either. To equate that with

my statement is absurd.

I'll tell you who I weep for . . . us. Or at least the ones of us who rationalize killing as an appropriate punishment for killing.

[goldcanyonaz]

19. If you can't do the time don't do the crime.

I think Baretta said that.