A federal judge has issued a stay effectively halting, at least for a time, any executions under Arizona’s death penalty law. The ruling involves an anti-anxiety drug (midazolam) used by the state as a sedative in connection with an execution. A lawsuit claims that the drug is unreliable, and that instead of reducing anxiety, it merely masks the pain that the death row inmate is experiencing.
We won’t get into the issue of whether the use of midazolam constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment,” or whether the death penalty itself is cruel and unusual. But we do think that there are a number of common misconceptions about the state executing criminals that should be open to discussion. Many of the claims are platitudes that roll off people’s tongues without much thought. And when those platitudes are examined, some simply do not hold up.
Death Penalty Rationale
Here are a few of the purported justifications that are regularly touted as providing a rationale for state executions:
- The death penalty is a fair punishment. Well, maybe it would be fair, under some view of state-sanctioned killing, if it punished those who “deserved it.” But of all the death penalty sentences handed down in Arizona over the past four decades, over 40% were reversed or otherwise altered on appeal.
- The death penalty is a reliable method of punishment. For questions on this argument, we’ll refer you to the case of Ray Krone. He was convicted of murder, and after spending ten years on death row, he was exonerated as the result of DNA evidence. We suggest that even one “mistake” is too many.
- The death penalty saves money. The argument here is that once we execute someone, the public no longer has to pay for the costs of incarceration. The argument doesn’t fly, primarily because the cost of appeals, and the long waiting periods on death row cost millions of dollars.
- The death penalty procedure is a civilized, or compassionate, way of executing someone. In Arizona, our last execution required 15 injections with an experimental drug, leaving the prisoner writhing in agony for two hours before he finally died.
It is apparent that many of the reasons put forth as justifying the death penalty are simply without factual basis. It’s time, perhaps, to examine the issue in a new light.
The Feldman Law Firm PLLC
1 E. Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 540-7887
