Ohio executed Dennis McGuire over three years ago. It took him 25 minutes to die, during which time he snorted loudly and gasped several times. Is this “cruel and unusual punishment”? The courts looked at the case, then agreed to let Ohio resume executions using the same drug combination. Despite the fact that the drug that’s supposed to render the person unconscious didn’t do so in many cases, leaving the condemned writing in pain for long periods (like McGuire’s 25 minutes).
Now Ohio is about to carry out a quick series of 27 more executions using that same drug combination, making the practice definitely cruel and, unfortunately, not unusual.
With all the studies showing that the death penalty is not a deterrent, is far more expensive than life-without-parole, and can’t be carried out humanely, no wonder support is widespread in the U.S. for discontinuing this practice. When are we going to make our laws catch up to our reason?