ial dose found his blood stream. Realizing the dose was not enough to end his life the executioner tried several failed attempts in the neck area hoping to find a main artery. Meanwhile, 300 pound, Scotty is still breathing after five minutes into this botched execution. The chemicals that were prepared and on hand have been seriously depleted. In a last ditch effort, the executioner signaled for help and directed a prison staff member to cut away a portion of the thick canvas jacket to expose an area of his chest to deliver a lethal dose directly into his heart; moments later Scotty expired (3). Another example that is equally as cruel as lethal injection is the gas chamber. This method of execution places a prisoner in a cell that fills with cyanide gas. The symptoms of dying first start with tears falling uncontrollably from the eyes. Then, snot and bodily fluids run unobstructed from the nose. Also, puss dribbles out the mouth, and blisters form on the skin about the face. Finally, breathing is restricted and the heart stops. This process can take eight minutes that may seem like eight hours to the prisoner. Another account of inhumane punishment comes from witnessing a prisoners execution in the electric chair. Science has not determined how long an electrocuted individual retains consciousness, but when the switch is thrown, the body jerks, smoke frequently rises from the head, and there is a smell of burning flesh (Seideman 4). For example, one case in May 1990, Jessie Tafero, a Florida prisoner, gurgled and his head bobbed while ashes fell from it, for four minutes (Seideman 5). Another case in July 1986, Kevin Barnes, an Alabama prisoner, took three jolts of electricity in ten minutes before being pronounced dead (Seideman 5). In the Chicago Tribune report on Miscarriages of Justice, it was reported that since 1975 at least 381 innocent people have been convicted of capital crimes they did not commit (Armstrong). Guilty crimi...
