Execution

Execution is the process of putting a person to death with or without the judicial process. Legal execution is also called capital punishment or the death penalty. The act of executing criminals is a highly controversial practice that has been performed for thousands of years. While execution has been used in different parts of the world throughout time, South Korea, Japan, and the United States are the only democracies to currently allow for the execution of its citizens.

Execution was legal in the United States from the colonial times up until 1972 when the practice of capital punishment was outlawed. In 1976 this decision was reversed and the states were given the right to abolish or legalize execution. Thirteen states, including the District of Columbia, have abolished the practice of execution, while another seven jurisdictions have not performed an execution since the 1972 ban. Thirty-eight states currently allow for the death penalty for certain crimes, typically the crime of aggravated murder.

Since the birth of our nation, approximately 13,000 Americans have been executed. Since the 1976 decision to again allow for execution, the government has put almost 800 people to death. Two-thirds of all executions are performed in just five states: Texas, Virginia, Missouri, Florida, and Oklahoma. For a long time, the most popular method of execution in the United States was hanging. Today, however, the most common method of execution used is legal injection.

There are five acceptable methods of execution used in the United States:

• lethal injection
• electrocution
• lethal gas
• firing squad
• hanging

Virtually all states have lethal injection as their method of execution, though some have alterative methods available in some cases based on inmate preference, date of execution or sentencing, and the constitutionality of the method. Nebraska only allows for death by electrocution, and another nine allow for electrocution as an alternative method. Four states allow for hanging, four allow for lethal gas, and another three for the firing squad as alternative forms of execution.

Lethal injection execution, performed by a technician, involves the injection of a series of drugs intended to cause death by anesthetic overdose, and respiratory and cardiac arrest. Because medical ethics prevents a doctor from performing the execution, an inexperienced technician might botch this method. The inability to find a useable drug vein because of past drug use is also a serious complication involved in this type of execution. Electrocution involves the administration of 500-2000 volts of electricity for 30 seconds, repeated until the execution is complete. Lethal cyanide gas is administrated in a sealed chamber causing death by hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to the brain. A firing squad consists of five executioners who shoot towards the heart of the condemned. Hanging is intended to dislocate the neck: instant death by this execution method is rare.

If you would like to learn more about execution, please contact us a qualified defense attorney in your area.

Related News

Nov 7, 2007 - Emergency E-mail System Created after Execution Controversy 

Sept 28, 2007 - Supreme Court Halts Execution of Texas Inmate 

Sept 11, 2007 - Lawsuit Challenges Lethal Injection 

June 4, 2007 - Judge Extends Death Penalty Moratorium in CA