Lethal Injection vs Electric Chair

Although all forms of capital punishment used today are brutal, the death penalty has been used in America to punish offenders of the law from the time our country was formed. Britain consequently influenced America's use of the death penalty more than any other country because settlers brought the practice of capital punishment over with them when they came to the “new world.” The first recorded execution in the new colonies was that of accused spy, Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608 (Randa, 1997). Persons committing minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians were often given the death penalty (Randa, 1997). Even though there are five methods of execution used in the United States (firing squad, hanging, gas chamber, electrocution, and lethal injection), the American justice system primarily uses electrocution and lethal injection. According to the Bureau of Justice (2007), forty-two inmates were executed in ten states during 2007. Of those, all were men, twenty-eight white, fourteen black. Lethal injection was used in forty-one executions in 2007. Only one execution was by electrocution. Lethal injection and electrocution are very different from each other. They have different histories, procedures, and complications. Absolutely no cameras or recording devices are allowed during electrocution or lethal injections.

The Electric Chair

The electric chair essentially replaced hanging. The goal of electrocution is the paralysis of the heart and respiratory system through the burning of the internal organs. Mailto in his 2007 article, The Electric Chair, reports electrocution was used in 27 states at one time or another and also by the Philippines, the only country outside the United States to use it. One hundred fifty-two men and two women have been electrocuted in the U.S. since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1977 making it the second most common method in the U.S. (after lethal injection) (Mailto 2007). The first electric chair was created by a dentist, Alfred P. Southwick. In his article, Sellers reported that Dr. Southwick came up with the idea of using electric current as a type of execution when he saw an intoxicated man die after touching an exposed terminal on a live generator. The electric chair has many nicknames like Sizzlin Sally, Old Smokey, Yellow Mama, and Gruesome Gertie just to name a few. It was used for the first time in 1890 on William Kemmler, an illiterate drunk and vegetable peddler, who was sentenced to death for killing his live-in girlfriend. Martha M. Place was the first woman to be executed by the electric chair at Sing Sing prison on March 20, 1899 for the murder of her stepdaughter, Ida, in February of the same year. Daryl Holton was the most recent person electrocuted in Nashville, Tennessee for the shooting of his three sons — ages 6, 10, and 12 — and the 4-year-old daughter of his ex-wife.

In her 2007 article Methods of Execution, Charlene Hall describes the complicated procedure of electrocution. The first step in this procedure is shaving the inmates head. Then the inmate is led into the execution chamber and strapped into a chair with leather belts across the chest, thighs, legs, and arms. Next two copper electrodes are attached - one to the leg and the other to the shaved head covered by a helmet. Electrodes are either soaked in brine or treated with gel to increase conductivity and reduce burning. The inmate’s face is covered by a leather face mask or black face cloth and he also be wears a diaper. The executioner presses a button on the control panel to deliver a first shock of between 1,700 and 2,400 volts, which lasts for between 20 seconds and a minute. Smoke often comes out of the prisoner's leg and head. A doctor examines the prisoner, who if not dead, is given another shock. After electrocution, the body is too hot to touch. Physical reactions include heaving chest, gurgles, foaming at the mouth, bloody sweat, burning of the hair and skin, and release of feces. According to the article written by Mailto (2007) the brain appears cooked in most cases and the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on his cheeks. Also the inmate often defecates, urinates, vomits blood, and drools. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells as his skin stretches to the point of breaking. Witnesses have reported hearing a loud and sustained sound like bacon frying, and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh.

Complications with Electrocution

There have always been complications with electrocution. Kemmler wasn’t dead after his initial electrocution. He remained completely rigid for 17 seconds until the current was turned off and then his whole body appeared to relax. He was certified dead but after half a minute, there were a series of movements in his chest which indicated that he was not in dead. Since the generator had been turned off, they had to wait for it to gain power again as Kemmler groaned and struggled for breath.  The warden ordered a second charge of electricity which lasted about 70 seconds until smoke could be seen rising from Kemmler’s head. When the current was shut off, Kemmler was dead.  Most states have switched to lethal injection due to the notorious complications associated with electrocution and the almost unbearable stench of burning skin.  Nine electrocutions have gone awry since 1983. During the electrocution of Jesse Joseph Tafero on May 4, 1990 flames and smoke were seen shooting out of his head. This caused the state to interrupt the electric current during which Tafero continued to breathe and move.

The state's execution was cruel and allegedly violated Tafero's right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

The Lethal Injection

Lethal injection was originally proposed as a means of execution in 1888 in New York, but the state chose electrocution instead. In 1982, the United States became the first country in the world to perform executions by lethal injection as a means of capital punishment. According to Randall (2006) lethal injection is the method of execution used in 37 of the 38 states that practice capital punishment in the United States. Of the 1,022 death row inmates executed since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, 854 have died by lethal injection. Although Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection legislation in 1977, Texas was actually the first state to employ this method in 1982 on Charles Brooks Jr., who was convicted of shooting a mechanic in the head. Lethal injection has also been used in Oregon to facilitate voluntary deaths in patients with terminal or chronically painful conditions.

The lethal injection method is a simpler procedure than the electric chair. The method begins with restraining the inmate on a gurney and inserting two intravenous tubes in each arm. The intravenous tubes are threaded through an opening in the wall that leads to the anteroom, where the executioner is located. Once the IV tubes are inserted, a saline solution begins flowing into them. After this step is completed the execution team will begin injecting lethal doses of two or three drugs into the IVs at the warden’s signal. An anesthetic, sodium thiopental is sent through the IV, causing the inmate to become unconscious. Next a paralyzing agent, pancuronium bromide is injected which relaxes the inmate’s lungs and diaphragm. The last drug to be injected is potassium chloride which causes a cardiac arrest. Within a minute or two after the last drug is administered, a physician declares the inmate dead. Lethal injection is anything but economical. The death penalty costs far more today than it did when settlers first introduced it to America. Much of the costs are incurred in an effort to ensure criminals their right to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. It seems to me, however, that murderers fail to guarantee this right to their victims. In her article A History and Discussion of The Death Penalty, Rhanda tells us that an execution costs $2.16 million more than a sentence of life imprisonment.

Complications with the Legal Injection

Complications also occur with the lethal injection method. Sodium thiopental does not always cause the inmate to go into a coma. This means when the potassium chloride is injected the inmate feels intense pain but can not express their pain because of the drug pancuronium which paralysis the body. This is one reason why the United States is skeptical about using this type of execution method. Infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy was convicted of the torture, rape and murder of 33 males between 1972 until his arrest in 1978. He was dubbed the "Killer Clown" because he entertained kids at parties as "Pogo the Clown." He was eventually convicted and sentenced to death. On May 10, 1994, Gacy was executed by lethal injection. After the execution began, the chemicals solidified, clogging the IV tube that lead into Gacy's arm. Blinds covering the window through which witnesses observed the execution were drawn, and the execution team replaced the clogged tube with a new one. Ten minutes later, the blinds were then reopened and the execution process resumed. It took 18 minutes to complete.

Though statistics raise reasonable questions regarding whether or not capital punishment actually deters crime, I feel that criminals still deserve to suffer punishments according to the severity of the crimes they have committed. Unfortunately some people choose to commit crimes so outrageous and inexcusable that they deserve to be put to death. Even if capital punishment fails to deter crime it serves an important role in the American justice system. Although putting someone to death will never bring back individuals or loved ones victimized by a serious crime, the criminal still deserves to suffer the consequences of his/her actions, and their punishment must be consistent with the crime they have committed. Criminals must be brought to justice in order that the system accomplishes what it was created to do. Otherwise victims and/or their families will feel abandoned by the system and begin to take justice into their own hands. Perhaps those who feel capital punishment is cruel and involves risks and complications that often violate criminals’ rights should focus their attention on the final moments of victims’ lives instead. In my opinion, the risks and complications are secondary to the greater good and our fundamental rights, liberty and justice.

Works Cited:

• Allen, H. PH.D., Latessa, E. PH.D., Ponder, B., Clifford, S. PH.D.,( 2007). Corrections in America (11^th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall: New Jersey.
• Bailey, William C., "Murder, Capital Punishment, and Deterrence" 1994. Journal of Social Issues.
• Bean, Matt. (March 4, 2002). “Dying the Hard Way?” Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/03/04/ctv.execution/
• Bureau of Justice. (2007) Capital Punishment Statistics: Executions. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
• Fuhrman, Mark. Death and Justice. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 2003.
• Gillespie, L. Kay. Inside the Death Chamber, Exploring Executions. New Jersey: Allyn & Bacon. 2002.
• Hall, Charlene. (2007). Methods of Execution. Retrived February 14, 2008 from www.prodeathpenalty.com
• MacLeod, Marlee. (2007). Execution Evolves. Crime Library. Retrived February 14, 2008 from www.crimelibrary.com
• Mailto,R. (2007). “The Electric Chair.” Retrieved February 14, 2008 from www.geocities.com/trctl11/chair.html
• Radelet, M. (2007). Examples of Post-Furman Botched Executions. University of Colorado. Retrieved February 13, 2008 from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
• Randa, L. (ed.) (1997). A History and Discussion of the Death Penalty. University Press of America. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
• Randall, K. (2006). US: Legal Challenges to Lethal Injection as “Cruel and Unusual”.Retrieved February 13, 2008 from http://www.wsws.org/
• Sellers, L., Smith, S., Gallagher, R., Kerr, J., Langer, G., Bellis, M.et al. (2006). The Electric Chair. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_chair

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