Two Executions In One Week
The state of Georgia is going to execute two men this week. Being strapped onto the goner gurney does not mean you are a threat to society. You reach this point of no return because the various lawyers have done everything to exhaust the appeal possibilities. This does not speak well for our style of justice.
The case of Warren Hill is puzzling. The family of his victim does not want him executed. The IQ of Mr. Hill is estimated to be between 69 and 77. Why is there such a mad rush to poison this man?
The last execution by Georgia was Troy Davis. It turned into a circus. His guilt is a good possibility, but there was lots of room for doubt. When the state decides it wants to poison someone, millions of dollars worth of billable hours will be exhausted.
This blog has written about the death penalty on several occasions. Some of the crimes are “fist clinchers” … you read what they did, and you get mad. The problem is, these are not always the cases that get the overdose of pentobarbital. It is a bit of a mystery which cases wind up with a notch on the Governor’s desk.
This execution will be the first with a new method of poisoning the guest of honor. The old way was a three drug cocktail. Unfortunately, the manufacturer of one of the drugs did not approve of it’s use for killing prisoners. The modern method involves a deliberate overdose of pentobarbital. While this sounds a bit crude, it is probably more humane than the “Kentucky protocol.”
The opinion here is that capital punishment is strong medicine. Our current system of justice is not smart enough to use it wisely. Given the political climate in Georgia, the death penalty is here to stay. It is a sad state of affairs. It will exhaust your faith in government.
UPDATEPictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
I’ve often wondered how they decide who gets the death penalty and when. It seems like some are rushed to it within a few years, while others can spend twenty years or more on row.
I remember reading that it costs more to kill somebody than to lock them in some hell-hole and throw away the key.
Capital punishment is a jobs program for the legal industry.
One of the most powerful arguments against the death penalty I’ve seen was a statistic I read some years ago that said that murders of white people are far more likely to receive the death penalty than murders of black people. Hard to argue that it’s being applied even-handedly, isn’t it?
Georgia seems to have a balance between black men executed and white men executed. Death row has plenty of both races. As for statistics, you shouldn’t believe them.
Superb. In style, content, really.
A very interesting disucssion. In Florida, we are not much better, if at all. I am always amazed when they continue to discover new evidence which exonerates people, yet they still insist on rushing to do the final deed.
I worked for years with various anti-dp groups. Interesting to see the discussion again in this part of my life. Thanks for this.