Ohio lethal injection takes 2 hours, 10 tries

[DanaC]

Quite aside from the moral question, I have always had a slight difficulty with the idea of the state having the right to inflict death upon one of its citizens. There are too many variables and unsafe convictions to say without shadow of a doubt, that all those executed were guilty of the crimes for which they died. Any one of us could be falsely accused of a crime, we'd just need to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Personally I think its barbaric. It degrades the society that allows it, in my opinion. This is why the majority of civilised, liberal democracies have abandoned it as a measure.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Quite aside from the moral question, I have always had a slight difficulty with the idea of the state having the right to inflict death upon one of its citizens.

I would switch huge for slight. When the State authorizes killing, what it is doing is cracking the door to uncivilized behavior. Sometimes killing is in self-defense and is necessary. If someone invades your home or your country it becomes necessary. To kill for revenge or because someone might be a threat, introduces uncivilized behavior to a civilization which may be more fragile than we acknowlege. Whenever the State authorizes killing it sanctifies it and lowers the threshhold of acceptable violence. A cop recently suggested to a friend of mine that he take "care" of a situation himself, my friend didn't find this acceptable. A President of mine recently crossed the line and so men are being trained to believe its ok to kill because they're in a war-zone. Eventually they will come back to civilization many of them changed, having moved or erased that line between acceptable and unacceptable violence.

[lizzymahoney]

Originally Posted by Griff

A cop recently suggested to a friend of mine that he take "care" of a situation himself, my friend didn't find this acceptable.

I'm not gratified to learn that this is not particular to Florida.