Death Penalty Anesthesia

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This is not a debate about pro vs con Death Penalty.

Would you take a job performing this anesthesia?

Specializes in Critical Care.
10% of deathrow inmates have been released after DNA testing that was not available when they were convicted.

For the record, this is simply not true.

Even the aclu suggest that maybe 5% of death row inmates MIGHT be innocent. And most of those have NOTHING to do with DNA and deal with things like their lawyer sleeping through the trial. (surely that makes for bad representation, but that doesn't automatically jump to 'innocent'; it just speaks for the need to re-try them and put them right back where they belong.)

And there have indeed been 123 death row inmates released from death row since 1970 (only 13 based on DNA). But that is an example of the appeals processes WORKING. It's not a FAILURE of the system, but a VINDICATION of the system.

There has yet to be a proven case in modern history of an innocent person executed. Oh to be sure, the Houston Chronicle ran a front page story a few years ago about a kid that MIGHT have been executed after being wrongly found guilty of the murder in question.

But, 1. The facts still pointed to the kid. He was fingered by a cop that he had shot at a few weeks before. The story hinted the cop was just 'getting even'. The cop, with a 20+ service record, strongly denies that allegation.

2. He was guilty of other nefarious crimes, including, 'shooting at a cop'.

It's not like 'there but for the Grace of God go I' unless you routinely take pot-shots at cops.

I read the article and was unconvinced the kid (19 at the time of the crime) was innocent. But even if so, the chronicle could not paint the picture of an innocent kid. He was a gang-banger known for wielding both a pistol and a knife for 'looking at him wrong'. And, there were other murders in question that weren't tried because the strongest evidence was in the case that fried him.

Even IF (and that's a big IF) he wasn't guilty of THAT crime, he still amply held the same INTENT, on multiple occasions. Personally I'm glad he WASN'T released to await yet another murder before dealing with him.

I still say good riddance.

~faith,

Timothy.

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Thread Verdict: Guilty of Straying Off Topic Ad Infinitum

Penalty phase: Death by Lethal Closing

Carried out: 7/12/06 at 0833

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