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The death penalty, which has been in effect in Texas since it's re-enactment in 1974, has resulted in the execution of 391 inmates since 1976.
The method of execution in Texas is by lethal injection, a method that according to a recent study by the University of Miami may be cruel and unusual.
Teresa Zimmers, who led the study, told news.com.au that the cocktail of drugs given to the person being executed is "equivalent of slowly suffocating while being burned alive."
A dose of potassium chloride causes an intense burning sensation, while pancuronium bromide paralyzes the inmate's muscles and lungs. The anesthetic thiopental is given so that the inmate is unconscious and numb to feeling. The anesthetic isn't always efficient, however, and the person being executed may be able to feel all the pain caused by the cocktail.
The article also states that "even when the injections were done properly, there were doubts the anaesthesia was adequate to avert suffering." Those in favor of the death penalty will argue that lethal injection is humane, but these studies are proving that's not true.
The death penalty also is expensive, costing taxpayers in Texas almost three times the amount it would cost to imprison them for 40 years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (www.deathpenaltyinfo.org).
The issue of innocence also must be taken into account. The DPIC states that the number of death row inmates who have been released from death row has raised to an average 6.5 exonerations per year since 2000.
As criminal justice technology gets sharper and more accurate with forensic science and crimes are being revisited with new evidence, more inmates are being found innocent of crimes for which they've been "proven" guilty and for which they've been sentenced to capital punishment.
I believe that until the justice system is flawless, no person should be executed for a crime. It's highly unlikely the system ever will be flawless.
I also believe capital punishment is like legal murder. It's like saying that since a person may have killed another person, let's get him back by committing the same crime he has committed.
The death penalty is like a get-out-of-jail-free card. Why shouldn't murderers have to sit in a single cell without any human contact and stew over what they've done for the rest of their lives?
Yes, some murderers feel no guilt, such as Chuck Manson and Saddam Hussein, and many would agree that the world is a better place without Hussein and would be without Manson.
Even I'll admit to thinking that, but it's the innocent I think about - those who are innocent and still will face a potentially torturous death because the justice system failed them.
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