Time for America to move past capital punishment

How much more ghastly will the stories of torture in the Ohio execution chamber have to become before the federal government steps in to protect that state from itself?

It doesn’t appear to be enough that Ohio prison officials spent two hours fruitlessly digging in a convict’s arms for a vein last month to inject lethal drugs and execute the man. The convict, Romell Broom, was convicted of raping and stabbing to death a 14-year-old girl in 1984.

Even for those who believe that such heinous criminals deserve to die, our society becomes dangerously base if we promote these kinds of deaths.

Now, Ohio officials are looking at taking this grisly reprise even further. Officials there yesterday said they would investigate a way to inject the lethal drugs directly into the convict’s bones to reach bone marrow, in case a usable vein isn’t found by executioners.

This sordid plan is no nightmare from a Hollywood slasher movie, it’s what government officials are cooking up to prevent another execution disruption like the one that halted the lethal injection in Ohio last month.

Jabbing a needle into a bone to deliver any kind of drug is a notoriously painful procedure. To inflict that kind of pain to deliver the death knell to criminals goes far, far beyond implementing justice and brings the government into the business of revenge killings. State and federal law requires we treat animals for slaughter better than this. It doesn’t matter how revolting or aggravating a crime is, we should never permit this kind of torture of any human.

Now is the time for America move beyond such barbarism.

The United Nations and others have exhaustively studied the issue for more than 40 years. The studies show that countries that execute criminals don’t have any better capital crime rate than those who lock up the criminals for good.

The United States is the last modern society that doesn’t admit that the death penalty only makes for revenge, not justice, and that it’s all too easy to kill innocent people. The few who continue to mete out death are countries like China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Cuba and North Korea. Surely we have progressed further than those societies and are ready to join the ranks of Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and even Russia.

Source: Editorial, Aurora Sentinel (Colorado), October 7, 2009

Comments

Florida executes Billy Kearse

Florida executes man who killed Fort Pierce police officer during 1991 traffic stop Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.” A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the third person put to death by Florida this year after a record 19 executions in 2025.

Florida Cop-killer Billy Kearse set to be executed today

A man who confessed to fatally shooting Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish with his own service weapon during a 1991 traffic stop is scheduled to be executed starting at 6 p.m. March 3, barring a last-minute stay. Billy L. Kearse, 53, will be the third person put to death by the state this year, just one week after the execution of Melvin Trotter, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford in Palmetto in 1986. The Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 12 denied a motion for a stay of execution and a motion for an extension due to the fading health and death of the father of Kearse's attorney. Attorneys for Kearse have filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, citing violations of the Sixth, Eighth and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution.

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks is set to be killed on March 11 Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” The Tarrant County jury was unmoved. Ricks has spent the last 13 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on March 11.

Former Florida officer who raped, murdered 11-year-old set to be executed

An execution date has been set for a former Mascotte police officer who, in May 1987, assaulted and murdered an 11-year-old girl. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for James Aren Duckett on Friday. He’s scheduled to be executed on March 31. It’ll be the state’s 5th execution this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Duckett was convicted in the murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee about a year after her death. According to officials, Duckett took the 11-year-old to a lake, where he sexually battered, strangled and drowned her.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Prosecutors seek death penalty in 2 Georgia cases

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.

Maldives | Death penalty law for drug trafficking now in effect

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

Florida executes Melvin Trotter

The execution of Melvin Trotter for the murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford in 1986 comes as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor questions Florida's 'deeply troubling' lethal injection record. Florida has executed its second inmate of the year even as a Supreme Court justice questioned the state's “deeply troubling" record on lethal injections and how it "shrouds its executions in secrecy." Melvin Trotter, 65, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, Feb. 24, for the 1986 murder of 70-year-old Virgie Langford, a mother of 4 who was on the verge of retirement when she was stabbed to death in the corner grocery store that she owned for five decades. Trotter was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. ET.

Oklahoma Ends Indefinite Death Row Solitary Confinement

Every year, thousands of prisoners in the U.S. are placed in solitary confinement, where they endure isolation, abuse, and mental suffering . This practice might soon become rarer for some inmates in Oklahoma, thanks to the efforts of activists in the state. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma announced that the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester had ended the practice of indefinite solitary confinement for "the vast majority" of death row prisoners.

Chinese courts conclude trials of 2 criminal gangs from northern Myanmar, 16 sentenced to death

Chinese courts have concluded the trials of 2 major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Thursday. At a press conference held by the SPC, it was revealed that by the end of 2025, courts across the country had concluded first-instance trials of over 27,000 cases related to telecom fraud operations in northern Myanmar, with more than 41,000 returned suspects sentenced. Notably, among the trials of the so-called "4 major families" criminal gangs -- which had drawn widespread domestic and international attention -- those of the Ming and Bai groups have completed all judicial proceedings.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog