So, What's Wrong With A Good Old-Fashioned Hanging?

[dales]

PHOENIX (AP) — A condemned murderer took nearly two hours to die and gasped for about 90 minutes during an execution that quickly intensified America's debate on capital punishment. It is the third prolonged execution this year in the U.S.
The execution Wednesday of 55-year-old Joseph Rudolph Wood took so long that his lawyers had time to file an emergency appeal while it was ongoing. The Arizona Supreme Court also called an impromptu hearing on the matter and learned of his death during the discussions.

Arizona Execution Takes Almost Two Hours

9 hr ago | 1:17 | Views: 10k Watch Video
"He has been gasping and snorting for more than an hour," Wood's lawyers wrote in a legal filing demanding that the courts stop it. "He is still alive."

Related: Midazolam is common thread in 3 lengthy executions

Earlier this year in Ohio, an inmate gasped in similar fashion for nearly a half-hour. An Oklahoma inmate died of a heart attack in April, minutes after prison officials halted his execution because the drugs weren't being administered properly.

States have refused to reveal details such as which pharmacies are supplying lethal injection drugs and who is administering them out of concerns that the drug makers could be harassed. States have been scrambling to find potentially lethal drugs as several European-based pharmaceutical companies refuse to supply them if they are intended for executions.

Wood filed several appeals that were denied by the U.S. Supreme Court, including one that said his constitutional rights were violated when the state refused to reveal such details.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said later that she's ordering a full review of the state's execution process, saying she's concerned by how long it took for the administered drug protocol to kill Wood.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne's office said Wood was pronounced dead at 3:49 p.m., one hour and 57 minutes after the execution started.

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution saw Wood start gasping shortly after a sedative and a pain killer were injected into his veins. He gasped more than 600 times over the next hour and a half. During the gasps, his jaw dropped and his chest expanded and contracted.

An administrator checked on Wood a half dozen times. His breathing slowed as a deacon said a prayer while holding a rosary. Wood finally stopped breathing and was pronounced dead 12 minutes later.

"Throughout this execution, I conferred and collaborated with our IV team members and was assured unequivocally that the inmate was comatose and never in pain or distress," said state Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan.

Defense lawyer Dale Baich called it a botched execution that should have taken 10 minutes.

"Arizona appears to have joined several other states who have been responsible for an entirely preventable horror — a bungled execution," Baich said. "The public should hold its officials responsible and demand to make this process more transparent."

AP Photo

John Zemblidge, right, of Phoenix, leads a group of about a dozen death penalty opponents in prayer as they protest the execution of Joseph Rudolph Wood on Wednesday at the state prison in Florence, Ariz.

Family members of Wood's victims in a double 1989 murder said they had no problems with the way the execution was carried out.

"This man conducted a horrific murder and you guys are going, let's worry about the drugs," said Richard Brown, the brother-in-law of Debbie Dietz. "Why didn't they give him a bullet, why didn't we give him Drano?"

Wood looked at the family members as he delivered his final words, saying he was thankful for Jesus Christ as his savior. At one point, he smiled at them, which angered the family.

"I take comfort knowing today my pain stops, and I said a prayer that on this or any other day you may find peace in all of your hearts and may God forgive you all," Wood said.

Arizona uses the same drugs — the sedative midazolam and painkiller hydromorphone — that were used in the Ohio execution earlier this year. A different drug combination was used in the Oklahoma case.

"These procedures are unreliable and the consequences are horrific," said Megan McCracken, of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law's Death Penalty Clinic.

Wood argued he and the public have a right to know details about the state's method for lethal injections, the qualifications of the executioner and who makes the drugs. Such demands for greater transparency have become a new legal tactic in death penalty cases.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had put the execution on hold, saying the state must reveal the information. But the Supreme Court has not been receptive to the tactic, ruling against death penalty lawyers on the argument each time it has been before justices.

Deborah Denno, professor of criminal law and criminal procedure at Fordham Law School, said it may be up to Legislatures or the public to bring any change.

"I think every time one of these botches happens, it leads to questioning the death penalty even more," she said. "It will reach a point where the public will question the value of these execution procedures generally, and perhaps the death penalty itself."

The governor said medical and eyewitness accounts indicated that Wood did not suffer and he died in a lawful manner in which justice was served.

Attorney general's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, who witnessed the execution, said Wood "went to sleep, and looked to be snoring."

"This was my first execution, and I was surprised by how peaceful it was," Grisham said in an email. "There was absolutely no snorting or gasping for air."

Wood's execution was Arizona's third since October and the state's 36th since 1992.

He was convicted of fatally shooting Dietz and her father, 55-year-old Gene Dietz, at their auto repair shop in Tucson.

Wood and Debbie Dietz had a tumultuous relationship during which he repeatedly assaulted her. She tried to end their relationship and got an order of protection against Wood.

On the day of the shooting, Wood went to the auto shop and waited for Gene Dietz, who disapproved of his daughter's relationship with Wood, to get off the phone. Once the father hung up, Wood pulled out a revolver, shot him in the chest and then smiled.

Wood then turned his attention toward Debbie Dietz, who was trying to telephone for help. Wood grabbed her by the neck and put his gun to her chest. She pleaded with him to spare her life. An employee heard Wood say, "I told you I was going to do it. I have to kill you." He then called her an expletive and fired two shots in her chest.

[rubato]

Tell me why they can't just mix up their own potassium chloride?

Cheap, easy, and widely available. And it is rapidly and certainly lethal (in the right dose).

It's not like we have to care about FDA regulations or doing LAL tests for bacterial contamination. Mix potassium chloride with water, stir until dissolved and filter.

Yrs,
Rubato

[Daisy]

Here's an idea.

Why not just stop executing people full stop?

It's costlier than keeping people in prison for life.

It's not a deterrent, you'll still have a high murder rate in the USA because you let people have access to cheap guns.

It's not justice it's retribution.

LWP in a hardline prison regime, it's civilised and cheaper. And doesn't lower your society to the same level as the perpertators.

And no chance of anyone being executed that isn't truly guilty.

[Sue U]

Here's an idea.

Why not just stop executing people full stop?

It's costlier than keeping people in prison for life.

It's not a deterrent, you'll still have a high murder rate in the USA because you let people have access to cheap guns.

It's not justice it's retribution.

LWP in a hardline prison regime, it's civilised and cheaper. And doesn't lower your society to the same level as the perpertators.

And no chance of anyone being executed that isn't truly guilty.

What she said. Every word.

(BTW, 18 states -- including mine -- and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty. We're not all barbarians.)

[Big RR]

I think my views on the death penalty are pretty well known on this board, even when the death can be achieved by quick and painless means. But when it drags on like this did, it's even more inhumane and indefensible.

[Guinevere]

Bingo. What Daisy and Sue said. We are not barbarians in Massachusetts, either. And we have one of the most stringent set of gun licensing restrictions around.

[Lord Jim]

I agree with rube that there has to be a way to get this right...

Though I have to say, on my list of things to get weepy and distraught about, this doesn't make the top 10,000...

We're not all barbarians.

Indeed we aren't, or we'd all be acting like this (this was at the very end of the article; it should have been the first paragraph):

Wood and Debbie Dietz had a tumultuous relationship during which he repeatedly assaulted her. She tried to end their relationship and got an order of protection against Wood.

On the day of the shooting, Wood went to the auto shop and waited for Gene Dietz, who disapproved of his daughter's relationship with Wood, to get off the phone. Once the father hung up, Wood pulled out a revolver, shot him in the chest and then smiled.

Wood then turned his attention toward Debbie Dietz, who was trying to telephone for help. Wood grabbed her by the neck and put his gun to her chest. She pleaded with him to spare her life. An employee heard Wood say, "I told you I was going to do it. I have to kill you." He then called her an expletive and fired two shots in her chest.

Nope, not gonna lose a lot of sleep over this one...

If I wanted to get outraged over something regarding this, it would be the fact that it took twenty two years to finally administer justice to this piece of garbage.

[rubato]

Here's an idea.

Why not just stop executing people full stop?

It's costlier than keeping people in prison for life.

It's not a deterrent, you'll still have a high murder rate in the USA because you let people have access to cheap guns.

It's not justice it's retribution.

LWP in a hardline prison regime, it's civilised and cheaper. And doesn't lower your society to the same level as the perpertators.

And no chance of anyone being executed that isn't truly guilty.

Agreed, but if they are going to do it they can at least get it right. It cannot be all that difficult. Even vegetarians agree that animals should be killed humanely.

Yrs,
Rubato


Btw there is a book length swiftian argument against the death penalty called "a handbook on hanging". We had a copy my dad bought for a nuisance bid in a mail auction in the 1960s.

[rubato]

There is an introduction to a newer edition by Christopher Hitchens which is worth a read:

http://assets.nybooks.com/media/doc/201 ... uction.pdf



Yrs,
Rubato

[Daisy]

(BTW, 18 states -- including mine -- and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty. We're not all barbarians.)

I know but unfortunately when the rest of them still have the DP it sullies the United States of America as a whole.

Wood and Debbie Dietz had a tumultuous relationship during which he repeatedly assaulted her. She tried to end their relationship and got an order of protection against Wood.

On the day of the shooting, Wood went to the auto shop and waited for Gene Dietz, who disapproved of his daughter's relationship with Wood, to get off the phone. Once the father hung up, Wood pulled out a revolver, shot him in the chest and then smiled.

Wood then turned his attention toward Debbie Dietz, who was trying to telephone for help. Wood grabbed her by the neck and put his gun to her chest. She pleaded with him to spare her life. An employee heard Wood say, "I told you I was going to do it. I have to kill you." He then called her an expletive and fired two shots in her chest.

Nope, not gonna lose a lot of sleep over this one...

I'd lose a lot less sleep if he was being incarcerated for life without parole and I hadn't read this piece about his execution in The Guardian today.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... -wood-died

The DP is vengeance pure and simple and you "not losing sleep over it" is a perfect example of vengeance. I'm not saying give him another chance to go out and murder again, I'm saying save your tax dollars and the national conscience and keep him in prison instead.

BTW I'm not saying our justice system is perfect, far from it. But we don't execute people any more because it's morally as wrong as the person who committed the murder.

[BoSoxGal]

Here's an idea.

Why not just stop executing people full stop?

It's costlier than keeping people in prison for life.

It's not a deterrent, you'll still have a high murder rate in the USA because you let people have access to cheap guns.

It's not justice it's retribution.

LWP in a hardline prison regime, it's civilised and cheaper. And doesn't lower your society to the same level as the perpertators.

And no chance of anyone being executed that isn't truly guilty.

What she said.

[Gob]

Dear god, considering the number of innocent citizens who get shot each and ever fucking day there, is it beyond the realms of sense just to shoot the criminal buggers and have done with it?

Nice to see you dales.

[Big RR]

Tell me why they can't just mix up their own potassium chloride?

Cheap, easy, and widely available. And it is rapidly and certainly lethal (in the right dose).

It's not like we have to care about FDA regulations or doing LAL tests for bacterial contamination. Mix potassium chloride with water, stir until dissolved and filter.

Yrs,
Rubato

If I recall, delivery of the KCl by itself would be extremely painful; the first drug administered is a general anesthetic, followed by a muscle relaxant (in an amount sufficient to slow/stop respiration (and possibly cardiac function), followed (in some states) by KCl. It is the other drugs that need to be obtained from pharma companies or pharmacies.

[Lord Jim]

it's morally as wrong as the person who committed the murder.

To me, of all the arguments that are made against the death penalty, this one has always been the most specious and easy to dispatch, (and in fairness, I know a number of DP opponents who don't even bother with it anymore) because it really is quite indefensible, and even insulting, from a moral perspective when you drill down on it, and consider the implications...

I could give lots of examples that are even more stark, ("Did executing Adolf Eichmann make the Israelis as "morally wrong" as Eichmann?") but to just use the current case at hand:

On what planet, (no strike that; in what quadrant of the galaxy) would it legitimately be considered to be "morally as wrong" to execute the person guilty of this by lethal injection, after a trial and a 22 year appellate process, as it was for that person to do this:

Wood and Debbie Dietz had a tumultuous relationship during which he repeatedly assaulted her. She tried to end their relationship and got an order of protection against Wood.

On the day of the shooting, Wood went to the auto shop and waited for Gene Dietz, who disapproved of his daughter's relationship with Wood, to get off the phone. Once the father hung up, Wood pulled out a revolver, shot him in the chest and then smiled.

Wood then turned his attention toward Debbie Dietz, who was trying to telephone for help. Wood grabbed her by the neck and put his gun to her chest. She pleaded with him to spare her life. An employee heard Wood say, "I told you I was going to do it. I have to kill you." He then called her an expletive and fired two shots in her chest.

I'm sorry, but with all due respect, (and yes, I realize that whenever someone says "with all due respect" what comes next almost invariably doesn't sound very respectful...I've also been on the receiving end of that... )

To see a moral equivalence there isn't just wrong...(it certainly is wrong, but it's more than that)

It's bizarre...it's not even like comparing "apples and oranges"....it's like comparing "apples and lawn chairs"....

There are some better arguments that can be made against the DP, (though none that I would personally find dispositive; I'm happy to deconstruct them all in turn, one-by-one...it wouldn't be the first time... ) but when it comes to the "executing Ted Bundy makes us as bad as Ted Bundy" type argument, like Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) said in The Lego Movie (which is very popular around here):

"That idea is just the worst"....

[oldr_n_wsr]

A gun to the head works very well.
Not losing any sleep on this one.
And yes, I would pull the trigger.

[BoSoxGal]

It's easy enough to say when the case is clear cut - but imagine you are Cameron Todd Willingham, marched to your execution in the death chamber, knowing you are innocent of the charges for which you've been convicted - in a flawed injustice system where yokel firemen, cops and prosecutors employing flawed investigative methods transformed a terrible tragedy into an even more horrific one.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham

With all the exonerations in recent years - all the people released from prison, including death row, after evidence of ACTUAL INNOCENCE has come to light - how can any citizen rest easy while we allow the state to employ the death penalty in our name??

[oldr_n_wsr]

As I have said before. There needs to be multiple independent eye witnesses for any death penalty sentence.
Collin Fergeson should have been put down but he is not. My taxes keep him alive. i can fix that with $2.50 (just to make sure).

[Big RR]

As has been shown many times, eyewitness testimony is inherently the least reliable; people rarely remember what they see and are easily influenced to have false recollections. There's a lot of better evidence against Ferguson.

[TPFKA@W]

Karma is a bitch.

I no longer support in the DP due to dna exonerations. But this does not bother me.

[Sue U]

The question is not whether Wood was a bad guy or whether his crime was terrible (we can all agree on both). Some of the more relevant questions are:

1. What is the social policy objective you are trying to achieve with the death penalty, and how well does it serve that purpose?

2. Are there any alternatives that fulfill the objective(s) equally well (or even better), but without execution?

3. Considering the proven cases of wrongful conviction, is the death penalty worth the risk?