The process begins with an intravenous needle being inserted into both of the prisoner’s arms. The second needle is a backup incase something goes wrong with the first one. The first drug inserted into the prisoner’s bloodstream is a sedative, sodium thiopental that renders the prisoner unconscious. Next, pancuronium bromide is put into the intravenous line. This relaxes the muscles so much that it causes the lungs to stop functioning. Lastly, potassium chloride is inserted in the intravenous line, which stops the prisoner’s heart. The process takes almost an hour and can vary depending on the size of prisoner (Thompson). In 2008, the Supreme Court upheld the use of the lethal injection for the death penalty after it was questioned under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution as being a “cruel and unusual punishment”.
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The oldest method of execution comes in the form of hanging. Many botched attempts caused hanging to become the least favorable method of execution. During a hanging, the prisoner is restrained and led to stand over a hinged trap door (Melusky, Pesto). Joseph Melusky and Keith Pesto explain, “The noose is placed around the offender’s neck, with the knot behind his or her left ear, which will cause the neck to snap. The trap door opens, the inmate drops, and, if properly done, death is caused by dislocation of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae.”
The firing squad is the most grotesque of all the options due to the manner of the execution. There is a pan beneath where the inmate it secured to catch blood and other bodily fluids. Traditionally the firing squad at an execution would consist of three to six members. The inmate is tied to a chair or stake and the shooters aim at the chest then shoot. The final shot is in the head to make sure the prisoner is dead. Beheadings and strangulations can occur if the hanging is not done properly (Melusky,
The oldest method of execution comes in the form of hanging. Many botched attempts caused hanging to become the least favorable method of execution. During a hanging, the prisoner is restrained and led to stand over a hinged trap door (Melusky, Pesto). Joseph Melusky and Keith Pesto explain, “The noose is placed around the offender’s neck, with the knot behind his or her left ear, which will cause the neck to snap. The trap door opens, the inmate drops, and, if properly done, death is caused by dislocation of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae.”
The firing squad is the most grotesque of all the options due to the manner of the execution. There is a pan beneath where the inmate it secured to catch blood and other bodily fluids. Traditionally the firing squad at an execution would consist of three to six members. The inmate is tied to a chair or stake and the shooters aim at the chest then shoot. The final shot is in the head to make sure the prisoner is dead. Beheadings and strangulations can occur if the hanging is not done properly (Melusky,