For a few sweet months this year, the U.S. stood in solidarity with every other industrialized nation in the world. That all came to an end last week when the Supreme Court ruled in Baze v. Rees that the current method of lethal injection does not violate the Eighth Amendment as a form of cruel and unusual punishment, ending the U.S.’s de facto moratorium on the death penalty that had been in place while the case was tried.
The Supreme Court’s ruling was a step backward for the U.S. and for those seeking to end its unjust practice of capital punishment by challenging technical aspects of the death penalty. But even if the Supreme Court had ruled that this method of execution was cruel and unusual, the grim reality that the death penalty is an immoral punishment administered by a flawed justice system would remain.
The plaintiffs of Baze v. Rees claimed that the specific combination of drugs used for lethal injection, when incorrectly administered, can cause the prisoner an unnecessarily extreme amount of pain and paralyze them so that their suffering is silent and goes unheeded. The problem is often exacerbated by the absence of medical experts at executions—the American Medical Association advises doctors not to assist in executions.
While Baze v. Rees rightly challenged a troubling method of execution, its implication—that there is a correct way of administering the death penalty—is far from the truth. As David Elliot, Director of Communications for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, put it, “There’s no nice, kind, happy, humane way to kill someone. Killing someone is in and of itself an unnatural act.”
Thanks to the Center for Social Justice, Georgetown students will have the opportunity to learn about the injustice of the death penalty from someone who nearly experienced it firsthand. Tonight at 8:00 in Walsh 395, Prison Outreach, a service organization run by the CSJ, will be hosting Harold Wilson, who spent sixteen years on death row before being exonerated. The event should be a valuable opportunity for death penalty opponents and advocates alike to learn about the realities of capital punishment and will hopefully serve as a reminder that no matter the circumstances, the death penalty is never right.
