thisnumbersdisconnected
New Member
Those options for Missouri and three other states are pretty "old school."A shortage of the lethal drugs used to administer the death penalty has re-ignited a battle over capital punishment which has pushed a few states to weigh execution alternatives -- even firing squads.
The battle came to a head last week when Ohio used a new two-drug cocktail to execute an inmate, who had been convicted of raping and murdering a pregnant woman. The execution, though, took roughly 26 minutes and raised concerns about the ability of states to perform executions in a constitutional manner.
While some death penalty foes continue to ramp up their opposition, other states are weighing alternative methods -- even firing squads -- to carry out lethal punishment.
Right now, 32 states allow for lethal injections or other means of capital punishment. But when European pharmaceutical companies last year stopped selling the three-drug mix used for injections on ethical grounds, states began weighing their options.
What do you think? If European pharmaceutical companies are going to dictate their morality to U.S. states by refusing to sell them the proper drug cocktails for "ethical and painless executions," should we go back to firing squads?KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One Missouri lawmaker wants to provide an alternative death penalty to lethal injection, allowing a method of execution which hasn’t been used in the United States since 1996. A Harrisonville lawmaker is co-sponsoring a bill that would allow execution by firing squad.
Currently, execution by firing squad is an option in Oklahoma, Utah and Idaho. If a new proposal becomes law, Missouri will be added to the list.
You might say Harrisonville Representative Rick Brattin (R) is on a capital punishment crusade.
“It’s not an easy decision and it’s not fun. We have an obligation to bring justice and put to rest these cases,” Rep. Brattin said.
Rep. Brattin along with a Saint Louis area lawmaker is sponsoring a house bill designed to bring firing squad executions back to Missouri.
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