Revealed: Republican-led states secretly spending huge sums on execution drugs

[mysteryowl]

Last edited Fri Apr 9, 2021, 01:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Guardian/US

Republican-controlled states are spending astronomical sums of their taxpayers’ money to buy pharmaceutical drugs from illicit dealers in a desperate and almost certainly unlawful attempt to carry out lethal injection executions.

Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal the full extent of the spending blitz that American death penalty states have embarked upon as they try to restart executions delayed by the pandemic. The findings show that Republican leaders are not only willing to run roughshod over their own state and federal laws, but are also prepared to spend lavishly in the process.

Civil and human rights groups urge Biden to end federal death penalty
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The most jaw-dropping outlay has been made by Arizona, a state in which Republicans hold both chambers of the legislature and the governor’s mansion. A single-page heavily redacted document obtained by the Guardian records that last October the department of corrections ordered 1,000 vials of pentobarbital sodium salt, each containing 1mg, to be shipped in “unmarked jars and boxes”.

At the bottom of the document, the record states: “Amount paid: $1,500,000.”

Arizona’s extraordinary $1.5m payment starkly illustrates the lengths to which the state is prepared to go to kill death row prisoners. Pentobarbital is a sedative that is used in Arizona executions, with 5 grams being injected into the inmate to induce a fatal overdose.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/09/revealed-republican-led-states-secretly-spending-huge-sums-on-execution-drugs

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I think about the assisted suicide process where the person takes a pill, at home, and quietly dies. A pill!
In contrast, look at what they do to execute someone in prison. Clearly, they want people to suffer during their execution.

[chowder66]

1. Everything about Republicans is gross and negative. They offer nothing of value to move toward the

future. They are the party of NO, the party of Death and Destruction. They abuse, bludgeon and manipulate existing norms to advantage themselves.
They are addicted to power and care not for anyone or anything that may benefit from life, health and happiness.

They should no longer be in power anywhere.

[PSPS]

2. They seem to be sexually aroused by suffering, killing and death, especially of minorities.

[SpankMe]

12. Absolutely. n/t

[PatrickforB]

3. I have always thought lethal injection is utterly brutal.

Because it isn't like putting an animal to sleep, though it is presented to us like that. The prisoners are strapped down, and they contort and cry out as they are dying, as the drugs are pumped into them.

If we are going to have capital punishment, I would opt for firing squads. Because, hey, we already are in a love affair with gunz!

On a serious note, a firing squad seems to me much more humane than hanging, lethal injection, gas chambers and electric chairs.

As to whether we should eliminate the death penalty, I have always had mixed feelings about that. I think we execute a lot of innocent people. But if somebody commits a really horrible, heinous crime, like Bundy, or Manson, then yes, killing them does save tax dollars. CA taxpayers are still supporting Charlie Manson, and he is a total dirtbag who DID IT. We know he did it. He and Tex and Squeaky and the rest. They ripped open a pregnant woman. And yet, we continue to support them living in prison.

Maybe being caged for the rest of your life is worse for the criminal, in terms of the sheer horror of the punishment, but is keeping Charlie alive and healthy in prison really best for us as a society?

[George II]

5. It's been documented that the cost of imprisoning someone for the rest of his/her life....

....is less than that of executing that person. That is unless the person is dragged off moments after the guilty verdict and executed.

The way I look at it is two-fold:

If one isn't a believer, putting someone to death ends the miserable life of that person there and then, its existence is over. Period. But imprisoning the person for 30 years or so is much more punishment than ending the life.

On the other hand, if one is a believer and there is eternal existence, that eternal existence for someone like that will be torturous. But comparing 30 or so years to eternity is miniscule, virtually no time at all.

Finally, my thinking is that it's not our place to end someone's life - it essentially is committing the same crime for which that person is being punished. And then there's the one in a hundred or thousand or whatever that an innocent person is executed. That cannot make up for killing all those others, and if it comes down to a matter of economics, I'm willing to pay for imprisoning all of them and freeing one years later if proven innocent.

Bottom line, killing is final and wrong.

[PatrickforB]

6. You make a good case, George. Thanks for a thoughtful post!

[Mosby]

20. It's more expensive because of lawyers

Locking someone up in a facility, staffed with correction officers, maintenance staff, kitchen staff, mgmt, etc for 40 years costs less than a couple years of legal fees. Sounds about right.

[boilinmad]

9. Charles Manson...

...died in 2017

[JT45242]

4. Look at the units and the math ...1.5 million and they are only 20% to one injection

If each bottle does contain 1 milligram (mg) of the drug an it takes 5 grams to induce the fatal overdose, it would take 5,000 bottles. They don't even have enough for that.

If the numbers and units are correct it will cost over $7.5 million to execute the individual. Even if prison costs are $75,000 a year per inmate, the person would have to live 100 years in captivity to break even. Seems like a foolish use of money -- ignoring the illegal way he drugs were obtained or the capricious method of applying the death penalty overwhelmingly to people of color, the mentally ill, and the extremely poor.

[FBaggins]

15. There's no way that that's accurate reporting

It can't be a 1mg vial. It's more likely one gram. So five vials would be the dosing.

[JT45242]

18. Then that's 200 executions...unless they plan to sell off

Doubt that they could schedule and deliver 200 executions before the stuff expires.

Are they planning to mark up and sell illegally to other states?

[FBaggins]

19. There are only a tenth that number on death row who had exhausted their appeals

It may be that it was the minimum order size that the compounding pharmacy was willing to fill.

[CaptainTruth]

7. Republicans kill Americans. Period.

[mpcamb]

22. ...but they have a stronghold group of religious. It's been a while since I read the bible, but

doesn't it say somewhere "Thou shalt not kill."
There weren't any if ands or buts. No caveats.
How do they pretzel that around to fit their logic?

[Politicub]

8. And yet, the conspiracy theory and Q crowds keep supporting the right.

Not that they matter — they just annoy me with their consistent ideological inconsistency.

Red states are stocking up on drugs whose sole purpose is to execute citizens. Those states are run by opportunistic sadists.

[Martin68]

10. Why is this illegal? Because it was done secretly?

[jmowreader]

11. Because they're basically buying black market drugs

The people who make that stuff don’t want it used to kill people, so legitimate vendors won’t sell it to prisons.

I have no idea why death penalty-obsessed states are sticking to this method. You would think they’d change to firing squads...every prison has guns and trained marksmen.

[DENVERPOPS]

16. Hell, if Trump had been re-elected

He would have had 50cc of Pinesol injected, killing them and also destroying the Covid.........

There are far too many people put on Death Row or in prison, that have been later found thru DNA or other evidence proving that they did not commit the crime.

Just because they have the death penalty, doesn't mean they have to use it...............

I am wondering if prosecutors keep the death penalty, and use it to plea down a case to life imprisonment. The prisoner, by accepting the plea deal cannot appeal his conviction causing years and years worth of taxpayers money to spend on all the trials for each appeal??? A win, win........

And yes, life in prison to most people is far worse than death. Just look at McVeigh. After just six months of his life sentence in Colorado's Super Max, the opted to accept the death penalty. And the State granted his request.

I think McNichols is still in SuperMax and hoping that Trump will get back into power and grant him a pardon?????????

[jmowreader]

23. He may have had problems with Pine-Sol executions

Pine-Sol at least used to contain phenol. Injecting phenol into people's hearts was one of the ways the Nazis killed people. Trump was at least trying to convince people he wasn't really a Nazi, so working out of their playbook wouldn't have been so good.

[DENVERPOPS]

24. Thanks J

Thanks

Your comments sent me off on a search of the internet....phenol....Hitler, etc

One of Trump's former wives said that Donnie had Hitler's papers by the bedside and would read them before going to sleep.
She said he thought Hitler was great, and admired many of his speeches, papers and actions.

Do you suppose that is where he got the idea for treating Covid by injecting pine sol???????

[jmowreader]

25. No, I think he was just stupid

“Pine-Sol kills the China Virus on surfaces you wash with it? Well then, why wouldn’t injecting it work?”

Trump had a whole staff thinking up stupid shit for him to say to distract us from his atrocities, but they outdid themselves on that one.

[DENVERPOPS]

26. LOL you are probably correct

I won't say what I did in another post a few years ago that got my comment censored and both of my hands slapped, although it was quite fitting and needed to be said. LOL

[JT45242]

13. Great documentary on this

https://documentaryheaven.com/how-to-kill-a-human-being/
[link:https://documentaryheaven.com/how-to-kill-a-human-being/|
This bbc documentary on the death penalty was chilling. Especially the part with the Bush official who thought that nitrogen induced hypoxia wasn't punishment enough.

[mysteryowl]

14. Thanks! Nice contribution to the thread.

[DENVERPOPS]

17. Will view later when more time

There have been many dentists I've heard of that hook themselves up to the nitrous oxide, drift off comfortably to sleep, and never wake up..........

[dalton99a]

21. Kick

[agincourt]

27. Crime and oppression is their priority

The current governor of Nebraska spent lavishly on execution drugs a few years back. He also spent lavishly on a ballot initiative to bring back the death penalty after the legislature banned it. Now they will build a new prison which will probably cost half a billion when the shits all done. I fucking hate living in a red state, soon as I can retire I'm so fracking gone.