Do any states continue to use lethal gas as a method of execution?
479306
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=8&did=245
244465
This is long, so bear with it...\n\nA few weeks ago, the US reached a bit of a milestone, with an execution in North Carolina 1,000 people have been executed in the US since the re-instatement of the death penalty.  Think about that number, 1,000 people.  It’s a lot, with more to come in the near future.   It is one of the most divisive issues in the US today.  This is not an issue where there is any middle ground, it’s either you are for it or against it. \n\nIn the state of Texas, we execute more people than any other state of the union but even in Texas, the death penalty is hotly debated.  Not all states in the US have the death penalty but those that do have the same issues with it as here in Texas.\n\nLet’s start with a few of them… Firstly, the original reason for the death penalty was it was suppose to be a deterrent for crime.  It’s still touted as such in the states that do have the death penalty.  But, if you look at the statistics in the states that do have it you will see that it is not a deterrent at all.  Crime rates have not drastically dropped since its implementation.  If it were the state of Texas would be the state in the union that has the lowest violent crime rate, it doesn’t.  The only deterrent effect it has is that the person that is put to death will never again break the law.  That doesn’t drop the crime rate or make us any safer.  The realism is most criminals think they will never get caught, that they are too smart.  When criminals are doing whatever they are doing that is going to send them to death row they are not even considering the death penalty while they are performing the crime.  So that throws out the argument of being a deterrent and lowering crime rates.   \n\nSecondly, it was also suppose to lower costs of prisons.  If you execute the criminals they aren’t going to cost as much to feed, house or be taken care of.  Like the crime rate argument, this one is false as well.  In all actuality it takes more money to execute someone then to house them for life.  That has to do with the legal system and the appeals process.  Most of those on death row have court appointed lawyers because they can’t afford to hire one.  So the tax payers of the state end up footing the bill for not only the prosecution and housing the prisoner they end up paying for his legal defense as well.  In Texas, it costs almost three times more to execute someone then it does to house them in the highest security level for life (stats come from www.deathpenaltyinfo.org).  So how is that fulfilling the promise of lower costs?\n\nThirdly, it is considered retribution.  Unlike life imprisonment, where someone can lead a fairly normal life and have some luxuries, the death penalty does not allow that.  For some that are pro-death penalty that is acceptable because it is a true punishment for a crime, not a chance to rehabilitate the criminal.  With varying degrees people do agree with this, citing the ‘eye for an eye’ quote as back up for it.  But others feel that the states don’t have to right to impose retribution on an individual, that as ‘man’ we don’t have that right to take another life.  A lot of the belief systems that argue both for and against this have to do with religious principles.  But should states have that ability and be able to enforce death when they bluntly always say the state is not there to give retribution?  Isn’t death the utmost in retribution rather than punishment?\n\nFourthly, there is recidivism.  That is that some criminals repeat, repeat and repeat crimes no matter how many time they are sent to jail.  This is true.  There is a certain class of criminals that do repeat their crimes over and over, each time getting worse.  There seems to be nothing that can be done with these people that will work to rehabilitate and reform them.  Repeat offenders do seem to dominate the criminal justice system and are a big chunk of those that are incarcerated.  From the peop
485318
Ahem... No.\n\nIt is called assult with a deadly weapon - and drunk or not, it is illegal and not OK.
516696
well, i don't like to think that we have the right to take a human life.....on the other hand, my cousin was murdered and her assassin got 7 years.  He should have died.  After all he took her life.  Our prison system does not rehabilitate nor can it simply because the people inside are sociopaths.  so yeah, I'm for the death penalty and lethal injection is probably the least messy choice.
979252
Here is how i'd do it:\n\n\n:::::::::\nCapital Punishment is defined as, punishment by death for a crime; death penalty. The six most popular methods of execution are beheading, electrocution, lethal Injection, firing squad, and hanging. Beheding is usually the method used for Capital Punishment in countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq, when an individual commits a crime with this consequence, that person's head is chopped off.  When an individual is punished with electrocution, that person is strapped to a chair and an electrode is applied to the scalp and calf.  Alot of places in the United States have done away with electrocution and started using lethal injections, this is when a lethal dose of Sodium Thiopental, Pancuronium, and Potassium Chloride is injected into a subject.  Lethal injection is considered by most to be the most "humane" way of Capital Punishment.  The last two forms of Capital Punishment are firing squad, and hanging.  When someone is killed with a firing squad, usually there is a group (or squad) of gunned men, one of which who has a bullet, and the rest blanks.  When all guns are fired at the subject's heart, noone knows who killed the person, this is to assist in keeping the firing squad's concious healthy.  Last but not least, is hanging, when someone is "hung," a rope tied into a "nuse" is gathered around their neck, and they are placed onto a chair.  The chair is kicked out from underneith the legs, and the neck is broken.\n\n\n:::::::::::::\nThis really needs to be like 7 paragraphs, and you should start out with the definition, explanation of what you're going to talk about, and then do seperate paragraphs on each type of Capital Punishment.  Have each paragraph include who uses that type, where it started, and what exactly it does.\n\nI would write that out for you too, but i've got my own homework to do.\n:::::::::::::
701913
Death penalty cases are both State and Federal jurisdiction.  \n\nWhen Death penalty cases come up in Federal courts, the method of death is determined by the State where the crime was committed or in non-death states, the judges decision.\n\nIn the states, death by lethal Injection is most common and is the only choice in 26 of the states.  \n\nThree states, Alabama, Georgia and Nebraska are Electric Chair only.  \n\nSo in those 29 States, there is no choice of method.\n\nCalifornia and Missouri offer a choice of Injection or a Gas Chamber where the convict is advised to wait until the last possible second to breathe enough to ensure a quick demise. \n\nFlorida, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia are Electric Chair or Injection.\n\nIdaho and Utah provide injection but the convicted can opt for firing squad!?\n\nTo get hung, you have to be in Washington State but even there you can choose injection.  \n\nAs recently as 1996, Delaware also offered a choice of hanging but I believe ceased to do so and now only kill by injection. \n\nIn 12 States, there is no death penalty (See link for the listing).  Incidentally, in my home state, Maine, there is no death penalty since 1887.  \n\nIn that year, observers were 'treated' to the spectacle of a botched hanging.  It was the last attempted execution in Maine.\n\nHere is some more info on hanging from the second link below:\n\nHanging\n\nUntil the 1890s, hanging was the primary method of execution used in the United States. Hanging is still used in Delaware and Washington, although both have lethal injection as an alternative method of execution. The last hanging to take place was January 25, 1996 in Delaware.\n\nFor execution by this method, the inmate may be weighed the day before the execution, and a rehearsal is done using a sandbag of the same weight as the prisoner. This is to determine the length of 'drop' necessary to ensure a quick death. If the rope is too long, the inmate could be decapitated, and if it is too short, the strangulation could take as long as 45 minutes. The rope, which should be 3/4-inch to 1 1/4-inch in diameter, must be boiled and stretched to eliminate spring or coiling. The knot should be lubricated with wax or soap "to ensure a smooth sliding action," according to the 1969 U.S. Army manual. (The Corrections Professional, 1996 and Hillman, 1992)\n\nImmediately before the execution, the prisoner's hands and legs are secured, he or she is blindfolded, and the noose is placed around the neck, with the knot behind the left ear. The execution takes place when a trap-door is opened and the prisoner falls through. The prisoner's weight should cause a rapid fracture-dislocation of the neck. However, instantaneous death rarely occurs. (Weisberg, 1991)\n\nIf the inmate has strong neck muscles, is very light, if the 'drop' is too short, or the noose has been wrongly positioned, the fracture-dislocation is not rapid and death results from slow asphyxiation. If this occurs the face becomes engorged, the tongue protrudes, the eyes pop, the body defecates, and violent movements of the limbs occur. (The Corrections Professional, 1996 and Weisberg, 1991)\n\nThis is apparently what happened in Maine; a long, drawn out 45 minute sort of death by asphyxiation.  Fortunately never to occur again in that civilized locale.
865208
New hampshire and Washington\n\nWashington, the prisoner may request hanging.\nNew Hampshire, if they can not administer lethal injection, then hanging is acceptable.\n\n---\nnote for below, Idaho and oklahoma have firing squad options.
630057
One of the guys who helped install S.Quentin's gas chamber died there a few years later (this not an urban legend, it is told in warden Duffy's book "88 men and 2 women").\n\nDeath penalty does not deter, as most murderers think they are smart enough to avoid punishment (actually, quite a few are. Look the big number of unresolved murders).
1042815
Yes.\n\nBy the explicit text of the Aqdas, sometimes referred to as the Book of Laws, the death penalty is permitted for murder and arson, but not required.  Because of this, we oppose the total elimination of the death penalty.
902301
None, it is legal in all 50 states.  For more information on abortion, see http://Abort73.com
607729
It's still allowed, as far as I know, in about 15 US States, mostly in the South.  The only ones I know for definite are Texas and Mississippi.\n\nHere in the UK it's been outlawed in all schools, public and private, for ten years or so.
1175334
This is a very good question.  I am responding so that I can keep it on file.  \n\nI found one state that does, Florida.  See the link below:
7041
Assisted suicide may be permitted under a state scheme, but it is not required under the federal Constitution.  The Supreme Court found in Washington v. Glucksberg (1997) found that a Washington statute prohibiting assisted suicide was permissible.  A long-standing legal tradition in the United States, and in English common law history, exists that opposes assisted suicide.\n\nIt is still questionable whether a state may PERMIT assisted suicide, but Oregon has legalized it.  The recent disputes, however, have focused almost exclusively on whether Oregon may violate federal drug control laws when allowing assisted suicide, so the focus of the case is less upon assisted suicide and more about drug laws.  In theory, at least, the Supreme Court has never forbidden assisted suicide.  It's simply been historically opposed by state law, and morally opposed by most citizens.
726611
Oregon is the only state with legalized suicide, and in that instance it must be administered by a doctor and only in the case of terminally ill patients.\n\nHowever, if you attempt to commit suicide, you will almost never be prosecuted.\n\nFor more info:\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_views_of_suicide
999578
All of those forms have some draw backs.\n\nPerhaps the guys on the firing squad were up late the night before on a drinking binge, and their aim and general demeanor is not what it should be when they aim for the heart...and miss.  Oops.\n\nSitting in a chair being flash fried can't be all that humane and there have been several instances in which inmates were not instantly killed, but had to be subjected to multiple electric shocks.\n\n"Hanged by the neck until dead."  Well, what happens if the neck in question doesn't snap immediately?  The person just dangles and jerks around as they slowly asphyxiate.  \n\nAnd lethal injection?  Well, out of the four you mention, that's probably the most humane...a little pin prick and two intravenous catheters are inserted in the arms and the chemicals are magical injected and the person dies within 7 minutes.  (hopefully)\n\nIs there a humane way to put someone to death?  Probably not.  But then again what's humane about the death penalty?
956193
Many states have the death penalty. The problem is the sentences aren't carried out enough.
251956
Not that I know of.  They say killing is to control population!!