"Hamilton: No defense for the death penalty," is the OpEd by Arnold Hamilton in the Journal-Record. He's the editor of the Oklahoma Observer.
In 2014 – yes, the 21st century – state legislators are busy hunting for constitutionally acceptable alternatives to the state’s troubled lethal injection protocol.
How about using nitrogen? Firing up the electric chair? Redeploying the firing squad? Can the guillotine be far behind?
State Rep. Mike Christian, R-Oklahoma City, infamous for saying the condemned can be fed to lions for all he cares, is leading the between-legislative-sessions charge to make sure Oklahoma has some way – any way – to impose society’s ultimate punishment.
As is so often the case, the state’s elected eye-for-an-eye zealots are asking the wrong questions. They are missing a golden opportunity to lead an important public discussion about the worth and wisdom of the death penalty itself in modern-day Oklahoma.
Tulsa Public Radio posts, "Inmates' Attorney Questions Updated Protocols," by Matt Trotter.
The attorney for Oklahoma death row inmates suing the state says recently released protocols don't do enough to prevent another problematic execution.
Oklahoma’s revised execution protocols lay out four state-approved chemical combinations. Dale Baich said a cocktail of midazolam and hydromorphone won’t work.
"It's an experiment that failed in Ohio, and it's an experiment that failed in Arizona," Baich said. "I don't understand why the state would even pick that as one of the choices."
Earlier coverage from Oklahoma begins at the link.
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