Ripped Out Of Today's Headlines, By Me, Eight Years Ago.

In light of tonight's news about the botched execution in Oklahoma, I think we can all agree here that I am some sort of prophet:

Original Blogpost Air Date: June 13, 2006

Government Can't Even Not Create A Bureaucratically Screwed-Up Policy When They Kill You.


Ok, so I'm being a living stereotype this morning, an elitist liberal leafing through his copy of The New York Times, when I come across a story about a death row inmate appealing his sentence to the Supreme Court. Nothing unusual there. Can't blame a guy for wanting to live I suppose. Buried in this story though is a piece of evidence that shows just what a fucking genius I am. Stick with me here. I've been against the death penalty for a long time now. Partly because of the whole "an eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind" thing, but mostly because, and I have 2 different ways of phrasing this depending on who I'm talking to:

1) If you're a member of the general public: Would you trust the same organization that runs the DMV to have the power of life and death?

2) If you're a member of a medical profession: Would you want the same people who run the Medicaid program in your state to decide if you live or die? (OK, their decisions may decide if some people live or die, but in a different way)

Actually I have 3 different ways of expressing my thoughts. Sometimes I'll say that capital punishment is just another big government program that doesn't work very well. That line seems to work especially well with Republicans.

It is the particulars of this man's lawsuit that proves my brilliance. It seems his argument is that the way a lethal injection is carried out in his state is cruel and unusual. According to the Times:

The focus of concern is two of the three chemicals that make up the lethal cocktail used by most states. One is sodium pentothal, an anesthetic, which Mr. Hill argues in his lawsuit is insufficient to make the procedure painless.

The second is pancuronium bromide, which causes muscle paralysis but does not block pain or interfere with consciousness. Studies indicate that while inmates who receive this drug look calm and peaceful as the third chemical, potassium chloride, is administered to stop the heart, they can actually feel intense pain without being able to express themselves.


Anyone who knows even a little bit about drugs is probably saying to themselves right now... "WTF?" Anyone ever hear of long acting barbiturates? hhheeeelllllloooooooooo.......cheap as dirt, and a little IV push sends your condemned gently drifting off to an eternal sleep. The sodium pentothal they already use is a short acting barbituate. Crank up the dose of that alone and you'll do the trick with no problem.

But no. Some bureaucrat gone wild had to come up with an unnecessarily complicated cockamamie 3-step procedure that leaves open the possibility of having someone suffer a heart attack while feeling everything and being able to express nothing. Less effective, more complicated, more expensive. Remember this the next time you're in line at the DMV. At least sooner or later you'll walk out of there alive.