[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----USA

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 27



USA:

Make The Death Penalty Constitutional-----Death Penalty Arguments Ignore
Simple Alternative - Replacing Lethal Injections With Pills Solves the
Constitutional Problems


Recent arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on the death penalty
ignored a simple alternative to lethal injections which would avoid
virtually all of the problems the justices discussed, as well as the
so-called 'botched executions- cited by capital punishment opponents,
suggests public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

Since virtually all the concerns of using drugs for capital punishment
involve problems with lethal injections - e.g., finding a suitable vein,
positioning the needle, being sure it doesn't come out, using a syringe,
problems with tubing crimping or clogging, etc. - an obvious
constitutional alternative would be to use pills rather than injections to
administer the barbiturate.

'Providing a condemned man with barbiturate pills to cause a quick and
painless death does not require any trained (much less medical) personnel,
and avoids all of the physical problems with injections (even
inter-muscular ones),- notes Banzhaf.

If the prisoner refuses to take the pills, or only pretends to swallow
them, he can hardly complain about 'cruel and unusual punishment- if the
state thereafter uses lethal injection - whether the current 3-drug
sequential combination or a massive dose of barbiturates - since his own
actions were the direct cause of his pain. To paraphrase an old legal
saying, he had the key to his own freedom from pain, says Banzhaf.

Since as little as 3 grams of barbiturates like sodium thiopental is
virtually certain to cause death, this amount could be administered in 3
or 4 pills similar to those containing vitamin C which could be prepared
by a government agency to prevent any problems involved in drug
compounding.

Concerns that the convict will fill his stomach to slow the absorption of
the ingested drug are groundless because condemned prisoners are usually
kept under constant watch 24 hours before the time of execution, and
because any such ploy would likewise make the condemned responsible for
his own pain.

Likewise, since oral administration takes somewhat longer for the drugs to
reach the system than injections, this method of administration is much
less likely to cause the sudden reactions lethal injections have sometimes
been said to cause, apparently on rare occasions.

Prof. Banzhaf says he takes no position on the public policy or
constitutional issues of capital punishment, although any consideration of
the issue of using drug rather than injections - one not even raised in
yesterday's arguments - might require a remand to a lower court, and a
continuation of the moratorium on executions.

PROFESSOR JOHN F. BANZHAF III

Professor of Public Interest Law

George Washington University Law School

FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor

2000 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA

(source: PR-Inside.com)