Last week, in Iran, a convicted drug smuggler named Alireza was executed. At least that's what everyone thought. He was left dangling from the gallows for 12 minutes. A doctor checked to make certain he was dead (what Hippocratic Oath?).
Alireza's body was taken to the morgue. And that's where things got weird.
When his family arrived at the morgue to claim the body they found him breathing. He was taken to the hospital in order to recover so the state could take a second crack at killing him.
Not only has Amnesty International put out a call to spare his life, the Iranian justice minister, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, has also called on the government not to carry out a second execution.
This bizarre episode opens up an old question - what do you do when the inmate doesn't die?
It was not uncommon in the past for the electric chair not to work as planned. There are numerous examples across this country of men who were forced to sit through multiple jolts of electricity before they died. There was even an incident in Florida in which an inmate's head caught on fire.
With the drug cocktails used in lethal injection executions, we have no way of knowing how well the drugs worked. In the three drug cocktail the first drug is a powerful sedative that is supposed to cause the inmate to lose consciousness before the paralytic is injected. The third drug then induces cardiac arrest and causes the death of the inmate.
There is no way of knowing whether the first drug did what it was supposed to. Once the paralytic has been injected the inmate has no way to indicate whether he is experiencing excruciating pain. We just assume that he was knocked out by the first drug and was asleep when the next two drugs were administered. But, as to whether or not that's what happened, well, your guess is as good as mine.
While there are medical personnel on-site for an execution, not one of them is concerned with the well-being of the inmate. They are only there to provide cover for the state. Their job is to prep the inmate for the lethal injection and to administer the drugs. The only role for the physician on duty is to announce that the inmate is dead.
With the drying up of legal pentobarbital supplies, states such as Texas and Georgia, are turning to compounding pharmacies to manufacture the sedative. Unlike drug manufacturers, compounding pharmacies aren't subject to FDA regulation of their drugs. The drugs made in the compounding pharmacies are untested. The condemned inmate is nothing more than a guinea pig to the state and to the pharmacists who do the state's bidding.
Alireza was excecuted. He was pronounced dead by the doctor in attendance. His body was carted off to the morgue. The sentence was carried out.
It certainly isn't Alireza's fault he's alive today. I can't even begin to imagine the terror that must have gripped him as he hung there for 12 agonizing minutes. Twelve minutes of impaired breathing. Twelve minutes of intense pain in the neck. There can be few things more cruel than to be hanging unassisted for twelve long minutes.
Yet the state demands their pound of flesh. The state wants Alireza nursed back to health so they can try it all over again.
This is what the death penalty does to us. We demean life itself. We dehumanize the condemned inmate. We pervert the mission of doctors and other medical professionals. We lose all sense of perspective.
Since the state didn't grant life, the state shouldn't have the power to take it away. It is time we move away from this anachronistic viewpoint that there are some people in society who just don't deserve to live. That is an awfully arrogant position to take. And to allow a fallible institution that we created - the State - to exercise that very power is the height of folly.
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Friday, October 25, 2013
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The company you keep
While there is reason for death penalty opponents in Texas to be happy thanks to the Court of Criminal Appeals' stay of the scheduled execution of Marcus Druery, there is troubling news from around the world.
In Mali, an unmarried couple were buried up to their necks and stoned to death for having sex outside marriage. The death penalty was ordered by Islamists who control large swaths of northern Mali following a coup earlier this year brought about by the army's inability to quell a rebellion in the north of the country.
The stoning was witnessed by some 200 people who watched as rocks were thrown at the couple's exposed heads. The woman fainted after the first few blows while the man shouted once and then fell silent.
Over in Iran four men were sentenced to death for their role in a banking scandal that threatened to bring down Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. During the rush to privatize state-owned enterprises an investment bank forged documents in order to obtain loans from various banks. Two other men were sentenced to life in prison and 33 other men were sentenced to at least 25 years behind bars.
It is troubling enough that our government feels the need to satiate the blood lust of the public and kill inmates convicted of murder. The death penalty serves no other function than revenge - and even then it does a poor job. The death penalty brings no closure as the family and friends of the victim are still left with a hole in their lives. The death penalty also eats up precious resources due to the amount of money the state is forced to spend to prosecute a death case as well as to provide an attorney for the accused. Then there is the cost of housing the inmate in solitary confinement in a special unit.
But the state-sponsored murder of someone accused of theft or drug trafficking or having sex without being married is beyond appalling.
The use of murder to enforce religious tenets is the sign of a failed religion. It is also a perversion of the supposed moral underpinnings of religion. Ironically enough it was Jesus who supposedly uttered the famous line "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
I guess I could get up on my soapbox and write about the ways in which religion is used as a tool by the ruling class to keep the masses subjugated. I could write about how religion is used by the ruling class to keep the masses docile and waiting for their supposed heaven on earth after death rather then fighting for their piece of the pie while they can still eat it. But that's a topic for another day.
Besides, killing a thief or a young couple who slept together violates the tenet most used to justify the death penalty in this country - an eye for an eye. There is no justification for the state-sponsored murder of someone who didn't take another's life (not that there's any justification for it in that circumstance, either). In the case of northern Mali and Iran, the death penalty is being used as a means of keeping the population under control.
And while we don't kill inmates for non-capital crimes in the United States, our continued use of the death penalty puts us in the same category of nations as Mali, China and Iran. Is that really the company we want to be associated with?
In Mali, an unmarried couple were buried up to their necks and stoned to death for having sex outside marriage. The death penalty was ordered by Islamists who control large swaths of northern Mali following a coup earlier this year brought about by the army's inability to quell a rebellion in the north of the country.
The stoning was witnessed by some 200 people who watched as rocks were thrown at the couple's exposed heads. The woman fainted after the first few blows while the man shouted once and then fell silent.
Over in Iran four men were sentenced to death for their role in a banking scandal that threatened to bring down Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. During the rush to privatize state-owned enterprises an investment bank forged documents in order to obtain loans from various banks. Two other men were sentenced to life in prison and 33 other men were sentenced to at least 25 years behind bars.
It is troubling enough that our government feels the need to satiate the blood lust of the public and kill inmates convicted of murder. The death penalty serves no other function than revenge - and even then it does a poor job. The death penalty brings no closure as the family and friends of the victim are still left with a hole in their lives. The death penalty also eats up precious resources due to the amount of money the state is forced to spend to prosecute a death case as well as to provide an attorney for the accused. Then there is the cost of housing the inmate in solitary confinement in a special unit.
But the state-sponsored murder of someone accused of theft or drug trafficking or having sex without being married is beyond appalling.
The use of murder to enforce religious tenets is the sign of a failed religion. It is also a perversion of the supposed moral underpinnings of religion. Ironically enough it was Jesus who supposedly uttered the famous line "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
I guess I could get up on my soapbox and write about the ways in which religion is used as a tool by the ruling class to keep the masses subjugated. I could write about how religion is used by the ruling class to keep the masses docile and waiting for their supposed heaven on earth after death rather then fighting for their piece of the pie while they can still eat it. But that's a topic for another day.
Besides, killing a thief or a young couple who slept together violates the tenet most used to justify the death penalty in this country - an eye for an eye. There is no justification for the state-sponsored murder of someone who didn't take another's life (not that there's any justification for it in that circumstance, either). In the case of northern Mali and Iran, the death penalty is being used as a means of keeping the population under control.
And while we don't kill inmates for non-capital crimes in the United States, our continued use of the death penalty puts us in the same category of nations as Mali, China and Iran. Is that really the company we want to be associated with?
Friday, May 11, 2012
Walking the walk
So what do you do if you're a repressive authoritarian regime and there's one of those pesky lawyers who just insists on defending accused murders, regime critics and infidels? Well, you certainly can't let that sorry so-and-so get in the way of dispensing your brand of justice, can you?
The next thing you know he'll be convincing folks they have rights of some sort and that sometimes when you've got nothing to lose you might just have a chance of winning.
If you're the Iranian government and the lawyer in question is Mohammad Ali Dadkhah you toss him in jail for nine years and ban him from practicing law for another ten years to shut him the hell up. One of Mr. Dadkhah's most recent clients was a Christian pastor on death row for apostasy.
The regime has accused Mr. Dadkhah of acting against the nation's security, spreading anti-regime propaganda and keeping banned books in his house. His real "crime," however, was fighting for human rights. He is the fifth member of Iran's Defenders of Human Rights Center to find himself on the wrong side of the bars.
Yes, we complain because judges won't listen to our arguments. We get upset because the prosecutors wearing the black dresses do everything they can to undermine our cases. We get mad because the courts treat our clients like their guilty unless we can prove otherwise.
But at least we don't have to worry about being tossed in the can because we're willing to stand next to the most unsympathetic person in the courtroom. As bad as things are here at least we get to go home when it's all over.
As the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers reminds us, criminal defense attorneys are liberty's last defender. We are the voice for the people society has forgotten. Sometimes we are the only people willing to stand in the face of the power of the state - much like that young man who stood in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square.
Mr. Dadkhah was willing to do just that. And now he's paying the price.
See also:
"First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," Gamso for the Defense (May 10, 2012)
The next thing you know he'll be convincing folks they have rights of some sort and that sometimes when you've got nothing to lose you might just have a chance of winning.
If you're the Iranian government and the lawyer in question is Mohammad Ali Dadkhah you toss him in jail for nine years and ban him from practicing law for another ten years to shut him the hell up. One of Mr. Dadkhah's most recent clients was a Christian pastor on death row for apostasy.
The regime has accused Mr. Dadkhah of acting against the nation's security, spreading anti-regime propaganda and keeping banned books in his house. His real "crime," however, was fighting for human rights. He is the fifth member of Iran's Defenders of Human Rights Center to find himself on the wrong side of the bars.
Yes, we complain because judges won't listen to our arguments. We get upset because the prosecutors wearing the black dresses do everything they can to undermine our cases. We get mad because the courts treat our clients like their guilty unless we can prove otherwise.
But at least we don't have to worry about being tossed in the can because we're willing to stand next to the most unsympathetic person in the courtroom. As bad as things are here at least we get to go home when it's all over.
As the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers reminds us, criminal defense attorneys are liberty's last defender. We are the voice for the people society has forgotten. Sometimes we are the only people willing to stand in the face of the power of the state - much like that young man who stood in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square.
Mr. Dadkhah was willing to do just that. And now he's paying the price.
See also:
"First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," Gamso for the Defense (May 10, 2012)
Friday, October 14, 2011
Trying to quiet the voices of dissent
Hank Williams, Jr. (who can't hold a candle to his father) may have gotten his panties in a wad after ESPN fired him for his comments comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler, but his loss was only monetary.
Marzieh Vafamehr is an Iranian actress who starred in the Australian film My Tehran for Sale about an actress whose work was banned by the Iranian government. Ms. Vafamehr reportedly is facing a year in prison and 90 lashes for appearing in a movie critical of the Iranian regime.
Mr. Williams wasn't deprived of his First Amendment rights when ESPN decided they didn't want Monday Night Football to be associated with Mr. Williams after he made his comments. ESPN is a business who has a brand to protect (don't get me started on that). Mr. Williams was paid by ESPN to do the intro.
When working for a corporate master, one must be careful what one says lest the words reflect badly on the company. Mr. Williams wasn't careful and he paid the price.
Ms. Vafamehr, on the other hand, is being punished by a government because she had the nerve to appear in a film that cast the government in a bad light. Such an outcome would be anathema to our sensibilities in this country.
Just what is the Iranian government fearful of? Are the leaders worried that someone might see the film and question what the government is doing? Are they afraid that such expressions of protest might cause others to cast a critical eye and ear to what government officials do and say?
Of course if your government claims to be carrying out God's law, dissent might become an issue. You see, faith can't tolerate dissent or critical thinking. You either believe it or you don't. You allow someone to question the tenets of a religion and the walls will begin to crumble.
Governments that continue to crack down on dissent will realize soon enough that just because you criminalize dissent, doesn't mean there is no dissent. In this day and age you can't control the voices coming into the country. The internet, blogs, Twitter, satellites and smart phones have made it impossible to squelch popular dissent.
Dissent is healthy. It's the pressure valve on a pressure cooker. When people feel they have a voice and that someone is listening they are less likely to resort to violence. The Soviet Union thought it had eliminated dissent - but its leaders were sadly mistaken. Hosni Mubarak of Egypt thought he had squelched dissent through his use of violence against his people. Wrong again.
Ms. Vafamehr's sentence is the sign of an illegitimate government. It is symbolic of a regime whose base is crumbling beneath its own feet.
But more than that, her sentence is an attack on those of us who fight for freedom here and abroad. It is a crime against our humanity.
Here's a little Hank Williams for your enjoyment:
Mr. Williams wasn't deprived of his First Amendment rights when ESPN decided they didn't want Monday Night Football to be associated with Mr. Williams after he made his comments. ESPN is a business who has a brand to protect (don't get me started on that). Mr. Williams was paid by ESPN to do the intro.
When working for a corporate master, one must be careful what one says lest the words reflect badly on the company. Mr. Williams wasn't careful and he paid the price.
Ms. Vafamehr, on the other hand, is being punished by a government because she had the nerve to appear in a film that cast the government in a bad light. Such an outcome would be anathema to our sensibilities in this country.
Just what is the Iranian government fearful of? Are the leaders worried that someone might see the film and question what the government is doing? Are they afraid that such expressions of protest might cause others to cast a critical eye and ear to what government officials do and say?
Of course if your government claims to be carrying out God's law, dissent might become an issue. You see, faith can't tolerate dissent or critical thinking. You either believe it or you don't. You allow someone to question the tenets of a religion and the walls will begin to crumble.
Governments that continue to crack down on dissent will realize soon enough that just because you criminalize dissent, doesn't mean there is no dissent. In this day and age you can't control the voices coming into the country. The internet, blogs, Twitter, satellites and smart phones have made it impossible to squelch popular dissent.
Dissent is healthy. It's the pressure valve on a pressure cooker. When people feel they have a voice and that someone is listening they are less likely to resort to violence. The Soviet Union thought it had eliminated dissent - but its leaders were sadly mistaken. Hosni Mubarak of Egypt thought he had squelched dissent through his use of violence against his people. Wrong again.
Ms. Vafamehr's sentence is the sign of an illegitimate government. It is symbolic of a regime whose base is crumbling beneath its own feet.
But more than that, her sentence is an attack on those of us who fight for freedom here and abroad. It is a crime against our humanity.
*****
Here's a little Hank Williams for your enjoyment:
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