Posted on 10/17/2005 1:14:30 PM PDT by SmithL
Nashville -- The Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously rejected claims Monday that the three-drug combination used to execute killers can cause extreme pain in violation on the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Lawyers for Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman, who was sentenced to die by lethal injection for the 1986 beating death of a Nashville drug dealer, sought to change the state's death penalty method. Separate appeals to block his execution are pending in federal court.
Like many states, Tennessee uses a three-drug mixture in lethal injections. First, an anesthetic puts the inmate to sleep. The second drug, Pavulon, paralyzes the muscle system, and the third, potassium chloride, stops the heart.
The inmate's lawyers argued that the anesthetic could fail to work, and the Pavulon could then mask the signs, leaving the inmate in extreme pain, without the ability to cry out.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
"The inmate's lawyers argued that the anesthetic could fail to work, and the Pavulon could then mask the signs, leaving the inmate in extreme pain, without the ability to cry out."
Yeah, if it were me, I would prefer a massive opiate overdose.
Count on some leftist judge/court in some jurisdiction to rule lethal injection is Cruel and Unusual punishment.
Guaranteed.
Abu-Ali Abdur' Rahman, a 52 year old African-American man, was scheduled to be executed in Tennessee on 18 June 2003. He was sentenced to death in 1987 for the murder of Patrick Daniels that occurred on 17 February 1986. On 6 June 2003, Rahman received a stay of execution from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The events of Abdur' Rahman's encounter with Daniels are depicted in his petition for clemency and State of Tennessee v. James Lee Jones, 789 S.W.2d 545, 1990 Tenn. LEXIS 162. Abdur' Rahman joined the Southeast Gospel Ministry (SGM), a Black consciousness religious organization formed for the purpose of improving the African-American community in Nashville. Abdur' Rahman and Harold Miller entered Daniels' home on 17 February, 1986 to effectuate this plan. They encountered both Daniels and Norma Norman, a companion. Daniels and Norman were bound, gagged and blindfolded. (Ibid at 550, 12). A knife from the kitchen was used to stab Daniels and Norman multiple times. Daniels died as a result of the six stab wounds he sustained to his chest, four of which were sustained by his heart. (Ibid at 550, 12) However, Norma survived her injuries. She was unable to identify her assailant because her eyes had been covered by duct tape during the incident."
Abdur' Rahman was 34 years old at the time of the crime. There is evidence that he has suffered from a trauma-induced anxiety disorder since his childhood that has predominantly been diagnosed as Borderline Personality Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He suffers from serious mental illnesses and has attempted suicide on multiple occasions. At times, he has been psychotic and has suffered states of blackout and periods of dissociation, including a period of dissociation that occurred during the crime.
I'm very worried about this murderer's pain level. Very, very worried. Just so worried.
Every court that has considered the question of Abdur'Rahman's trial has affirmed the jury's verdict that Abdur'Rahman brutally killed a man. The facts, as primarily related by Abdur'Rahman's accomplice, are chilling.
Feb. 17, 1986, Abdur'Rahman and his accomplice, Harold Devalle Miller, both armed, entered a duplex under the pretext of making a drug purchase. Abdur'Rahman and Miller displayed their weapons and forced the victim, Patrick Daniels and his girlfriend, Norma Norman, to the floor. Abdur'Rahman bound Daniels and Norman with duct tape about their hands, feet, eyes and mouth. After stealing Daniels' bank card, Abdur'Rahman forced Daniels to reveal his PIN number
Abdur'Rahman then told Daniels that he had been sent from Chicago to ''clean up everything'' and that he was there to teach Daniels a lesson. Abdur'Rahman obtained a butcher knife from the kitchen and stabbed Daniels six times in the chest, penetrating his heart four times.
During the stabbing, Daniels was crying and begging Abdur'Rahman not to hurt anyone. Abdur'Rahman then watched as the victim went into convulsions, blood spewing from his nose and mouth. His accomplice testified that Abdur'Rahman ''was working himself up on a rhythm,'' he was ''cool'' and ''under control.'' The victim continued to plead with Abdur'Rahman as he was being stabbed.
After Daniels became motionless, Abdur'Rahman stabbed Norman in the back several times, but Miller pulled Abdur'Rahman away, and the two men fled, leaving the knife in Norman's back. Daniels died as the result of his wounds, but Norman survived.
Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman, A REAL STAND UP GUY!
Tell you what, Quilter. When one of them comes back and complains, then we'll change the process. Because like you, I'm very worried about their pain level.
Moral of the story:
If you can't do the time, DON'T do the crime!!
(Denny Crane: "I like nature. Don't talk to me about the environment".)
(Denny Crane: "I like nature. Don't talk to me about the environment".)
Just starve them to death.
Okey-dokey!
Yeah, a permanent state of blackout. That works.
LOL! It's a date.
The judge should simply have leaned over, looked the defense lawyer in the face and said..."No, that's the way we usually kill 'em!"
How can it be "cruel" AND "unusual" if you're doing it in the "usual" way?
Leave 'em in for a half-hour and you can be sure they're ready for the compost pit.
The lethal injection method is much too kind.
I have to laugh at liberals who say that the three-drug mixture is cruel and unusual punishment. They didn't say anything when "Dr." Kevorkian was using the same three-drug mixture to euthanize his patients! (If you saw the Kevorkian kill on "60 Minutes" several years ago, you saw how this method works.)
One can hope, anyway
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