"Humane Death"
Christopher Petrella once stated, "History does not pass. It accumulates." History is not solely the past, but the present and future as well. Not only that, but history constantly repeats itself. Throughout history, Americans have been publicly executing individuals. Since enslavement, white Americans have been publicly lynching black people. In fact, America thrives off of the black body. In the beginning, black people were enslaved, abused, raped, and whipped. Black people were then lynched and excluded from anything politically, economically, and socially. Now, black people are being killed by police officers and government officials. Not much has changed when it comes to the treatment of black people. However, capital punishment has changed tremendously throughout the years. It has gone from enforcing inhumane deaths to now "humane deaths" because those who were imprisoned are human and deserve to be treated as such. However, this does not apply to black people because black people were never offered "humane deaths" since they were and are not considered human.
" Despite some two-hundred years of debate, capital punishment remains one of the most hotly contested and widely discussed topics of both public and academic." (Smith, 235) Capital Punishment is the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime they have committed. Capital punishment began in 1608 when Captain George Kendall was killed by a fire squad in Virginia for spying on the Spanish government. At this time, the death penalty was a punishment for all offenses. Although, Virginia changed the law seven years later because they feared no one would want to stay in the state with such a harsh law. Death penalty reform did not occur until 1776-1780. At that time, it was suggested that the death penalty should only be used for treason and murder. That, in itself, sparked up controversy. Many states were abusing the death penalty, whereas others did not even use it. That was not the only reason for controversy. In the late nineteenth/early twentieth century, Americans did not see that the methods of capital punishment were humane enough. As a result, the electric chair was developed as a form of a "humane death." Eventually, that method was abandoned, and lethal injection became the new form of a "humane death." However, what is a "humane death?" Humane death is one that occurs with little to no distress or pain. Lethal injection fulfills that definition.
"The lethal injection protocol includes a first dose of sodium pentothal, which puts the prisoner to sleep, followed by a muscle relaxant that paralyzes the lungs, and then potassium chloride that stops the heart. Putting the prisoner to sleep before killing him or she is more about cosmetics than compassion; it keeps up the appearance of decency, protects the witnesses from messy scenes, and masks the violence of state killing with a humane medical procedure." (Conquergood, 352) That is ...
