Death by Lethal Injection
Death by Lethal Injection 1
Death by Lethal Injection Nicole Beer Axia College of University of Phoenix
Death by Lethal Injection 2 The first state introducing legislation allowing lethal injection as a legal method of execution was Oklahoma. On May 11, 1977 the state of Oklahoma permitted this form of execution to be legal. Five states had executions by lethal injection permitted by legislation by 1981. Charles Brooks was the first to be executed by lethal injection on December 7, 1982. In the past fifteen years, the number of people sentenced to death has increased by 206%. The numbers increased from 1,209 in 1983 to 3,700 in July 1999-June 2000. Astonishingly, 22 states allow execution of the mentally retarded. As of today, the number of executions of offenders with mental retardation is 35. 80% of the executions in the United States are accounted for by the South. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistic reports “it has the highest murder rate”. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Para. 4). The Northwest has the lowest murder rate which has less than 1% of all executions. The cost of the death penalty is far more than the cost of life time incarceration. Amnesty International USA states “A 2003 legislative audit found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non death penalty case.” (Amnesty International USA, Para. 2). In the case where death penalty trials result in a verdict where they are reversed or is less than death, as taxpayers, we incur first, all costs of capital pretrial and the trial proceedings and then pay the cost of incarcerating the prisoner for life or retrial cost which leads to a life sentence quite often. Since 1982, over 900 prisoners have been executed by lethal injection. Although it is the primary form of capital punishment, it has not replaced the alternative methods such Death by Lethal
Death by Lethal Injection Nicole Beer Axia College of University of Phoenix
Death by Lethal Injection 2 The first state introducing legislation allowing lethal injection as a legal method of execution was Oklahoma. On May 11, 1977 the state of Oklahoma permitted this form of execution to be legal. Five states had executions by lethal injection permitted by legislation by 1981. Charles Brooks was the first to be executed by lethal injection on December 7, 1982. In the past fifteen years, the number of people sentenced to death has increased by 206%. The numbers increased from 1,209 in 1983 to 3,700 in July 1999-June 2000. Astonishingly, 22 states allow execution of the mentally retarded. As of today, the number of executions of offenders with mental retardation is 35. 80% of the executions in the United States are accounted for by the South. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistic reports “it has the highest murder rate”. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Para. 4). The Northwest has the lowest murder rate which has less than 1% of all executions. The cost of the death penalty is far more than the cost of life time incarceration. Amnesty International USA states “A 2003 legislative audit found that the estimated cost of a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non death penalty case.” (Amnesty International USA, Para. 2). In the case where death penalty trials result in a verdict where they are reversed or is less than death, as taxpayers, we incur first, all costs of capital pretrial and the trial proceedings and then pay the cost of incarcerating the prisoner for life or retrial cost which leads to a life sentence quite often. Since 1982, over 900 prisoners have been executed by lethal injection. Although it is the primary form of capital punishment, it has not replaced the alternative methods such Death by Lethal
References: Asner, E (n.d) Death Penalty Facts. Retrieved December 20, 2008, from http://www.upress.umn.edu/Mello/DeathPenaltyFacts.htm Yarrow, P (n.d) Death Penalty Cost. Retrieved December 20, 2008, from http://www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty/death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-cost/page.doc Zimmers, TA (Dec, 2006) Botched Executions. Retrieved December 20, 2008, from http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang-e&id=ENGACT500072007.htm