OLD SPARKY
Posted on 07/21/2006 10:12:33 AM PDT by presidio9
A convicted killer who chose the electric chair because he was apparently unnerved by the prospect of lethal injection awaited execution Thursday.
Brandon Hedrick, 27, was set to become the first person executed in the electric chair in the United States in more than two years.
He was condemned to die for the 1997 murder of 23-year-old Lisa Crider, who was abducted, robbed, raped and killed with a shotgun blast to the face.
Virginia's Death Row inmates are given the option of dying by injection or electrocution. Three other Virginia inmates have opted for the electric chair over injection since the state began giving inmates the choice in 1995.
Last week, several guards showed up at Hedrick's cell late at night to present a form on which he was told to choose his execution method, Hedrick's attorney Robert Lee said.
The guards ''begin talking about lethal injection -- talking about being strapped down to the table, being made to wait long periods of time, the difficulty sometimes in finding a vein,'' Lee said. ''That information coupled with general frustration produced this result.''
Lethal injection was adopted by many states in recent decades after it was portrayed as more humane than other methods of execution. But defense attorneys in recent months have argued that the combination of drugs can in some cases cause excruciating pain. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Death Row inmates can challenge lethal injection as a civil rights issue.
Hedrick did not say the officers discussed pain from the chemicals, Lee said. However, Hedrick ''had some awareness of the concerns that have been raised in other litigation -- the idea that you're anesthetized, but maybe you don't remain unconscious,'' Lee said.
The defense attorney said he did not believe Hedrick was manipulated, but added: ''Clearly, that stuff spooked him.''
We aim to please.
Ironic choice of words there...
Whatever. As long as he's dead...
OLD SPARKY
Don't forget the alcohol swab before...
If it has been determined that injection is "humane" then the choice has been made, as far as I'm concerned. Giving someone who rapes and blasts a face off with a shot gun a "choice" is absurd.
No one knows this for sure, because no one has ever come bakc to complain and common sense will tell you just the opposite. Liberals always make statements as if they were proven fact, instead of conjecture. I suppose this guy thinks having huge amounts of electricity shot through the body doesn't hurt. Well, good luck to him with that!(hope it hurts like hell)
Ride the lightning, dude.
Brandon Hedrick & Lisa Crider
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