The Death Penalty/ Capitol Punishment

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On the 10th of August 1982, death by electrocution was set for Frank J. Coppola, a police officer turned murderer by the Virginia Department of Corrections. It is reported that it took two 55 second jolts of electricity to kill Coppola with the second jolt producing the sound and smell of burning flesh. His head and leg caught on fire filling the whole chamber with smoke.

On the 22nd of April 1983, death by electrocution was set for John Evans in the state of Alabama. The first jolt of electricity led to flames erupting from the electrode attached to John’s leg and eventually caught on fire. Two physicians got inside the death chamber and found a heartbeat. Another jolt of electricity was applied but his heart was still beating. The executioner ignored the pleas of John’s lawyers and applied yet another jolt of electricity that finally killed him after 14 minutes leaving his body smoldered.

On the 2nd of September 1983, death by asphyxiation was set for Jimmy Lee Gray in the state of Mississippi. 8 minutes into the execution, the officials had to clear the room off witnesses who were repulsed by Jimmy’s desperate attempts at breathing. Jimmy’s attorney said that Jimmy died while hitting his head against a steel pole in the gas chamber. It was later revealed that his executioner, Barry Bruce was intoxicated by alcohol during the procedure.

On the 24th of May 1989, death by lethal injection was set for Stephen McCoy in the state of Texas. It is reported that he had an incredibly violent reaction to the drugs as he was gasping and choking such that one of the male witnesses fainted and knocked over another witness. The Texas Attorney General admitted that the inmate seemed to have a stronger reaction than as was expected and added that the drugs administered to McCoy might have been in a heavier dose or was administered in a rapid manner.

On the 13th of December 2006, death by lethal injection was set up for Angel Diaz in the state of Florida. After the first injection was administered, Diaz still moved and was grimacing in pain as he tried to speak. Another dose was administered before Diaz was declared dead. An autopsy was conducted and results showed that the injecting needle had gone through the vein of Diaz and had come out the other side. What had happened was the deadly chemical was injected into soft tissue rather than the vein.

On the 24th of May 2007, death by lethal injection was set up for Christopher Newton. The medical staff at the Southern Ohio Correctional facility failed to locate veins on each of Newton’s arms during the execution and stuck Newton at least ten times with the needles.

The most recent botched execution happened on the 29th of April 2014, death by lethal injection was arranged for Clayton Lockett in the state of Oklahoma. Lockett who was convicted of murder, rape and kidnapping was administered to a mixture of untested drugs that had never been used before in any state in the country for execution purposes.

Defense attorneys had warned about the danger of using of an experimental drug but Oklahoma proceeded with the execution. Despite the execution being halted, Lockett writhed, groaned, convulsed and even talked during his execution and tried to rise from the execution table fourteen minutes after the procedure had begun after being pronounced unconscious.

Works Cited

AP. "A Glance at the 5 Execution Methods Allowed in the US Today and How They Work."Fox News. N.p., 23 May 2014. Web. 24 July 2015.

Bosman, Julie. "Nebraska Bans Death Penalty, Defying a Veto - The New York Times."The New York Times. N.p., 27 May 2015. Web. 23 July 2015.

Bucktin, Christopher. "When Death Row Executions Go Wrong: The Shocking Details of SEVEN Capital Punishment Horror Stories - Mirror Online." The Mirror. N.p., 24 July 2014. Web. 24 July 2015.

Levs, Josh, Ed Payne, and Greg Botelho. "Botched Lethal Injection a New Front in Battle over U.S. Executions." edition.cnn.com. CNN, 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 24 July 2015.

Wallis, W. D. "The Encyclopedia Britannica." American Anthropologist 6 (1911): n. pag. Web. 23 July 2015.

Wilson, Chris. "Oklahoma Execution Botched: U.S. Capital Punishment Statistics."TIME.com. N.p., 24 July 2014. Web. 24 July 2015.