Saturday, September 19, 2009

Double Jeopardy on Death Row?

If you were on death row, and faced the executioner...............and survived, can the State try to kill you a second time, or have you escaped Death? Ohio law requires executions to be "quick and painless". Does the Constitution's standard in the Bill of Rights against "cruel and unusual punishment" apply here?
This article provides a summary of ther current Ohio case where State of Ohio technicians failed to find an "adequate" vein in Romell Broom's arm or leg, and the procedure was stopped after 2 1/2 hours, to be tried again soon (unless the courts intervene).

What do you think should happen? This situation has only happened once before.

From Wikipedia: "Cruel and unusual punishment is a statement implying that governments shall not inflict suffering or humiliation on the condemned as punishment for crimes, regardless of their degree of severity. It was founded in the English Bill of Rights, which was signed in 1689 by King William III and Queen Mary II who were then the joint rulers of England, Scotland, and Ireland following the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688.

These exact words later appeared in the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1787). The British Slavery Amelioration Act of 1798 also used the term, forbidding slave owners from using "cruel and unusual punishment" on slaves in the British Caribbean colonies. "

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