A study by American journalist Jack Robbins on the execution of sentences in the United States is called "The Last Lunch." Why? It turns out that the privilege of those sentenced to death in the States is the lunch, which the prisoner orders a few hours before the execution. This tradition goes back many years, and no one tries to infringe on the legal right of a suicide bomber.
Shooting at will
Jack Robbins himself frankly states:
“I wouldn't have gotten a piece down my throat if I knew that soon the executioner would send me to the forefathers. However, according to my personal observations, most of the suicide bombers eat burgers, steaks, pizzas and chops with gusto. At the same time, they are well aware that this is their last meal on earth.
Borrowing the legal culture and punishment system from Britain, the Americans did not abandon the death penalty, as did the subjects of the British crown.
Currently, the laws of various American states provide for five methods of the death penalty: hanging, firing squad, electric chair, gas chamber, lethal injection. Parting with life threatens lawbreakers in three dozen states, which proves an indisputable fact: while advocating for humanity and respect for human rights in other countries and condemning them for various violations, the United States itself does not really care about philanthropy, regularly sending criminals to the next world. Texas is a kind of record holder for the number of those executed.
From the late 1970s to the present day, the executioners of the state sent 550 criminals to the next world, followed by: Oklahoma - 120 executed, Virginia - 115, Florida - 95, Missouri - 90, and so on.
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As we have already said, the American Themis has five methods of sending inveterate criminals to the next world, although the decisive verdict regarding the method of execution belongs to the judicial authority of a particular state and is approved by the governor.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the vast majority of executions in the United States have been carried out by lethal injection. It is believed that this is the most gentle way. The offender allegedly does not experience torment - under the influence of a solution that is injected into his vein, he simply quietly falls asleep with eternal sleep.
Occasionally, American suicide bombers are put in the electric chair. But the shooting was applied on June 18, 2010 in Utah for the first time in a long time. Serial killer Ronnie Lee Gardner, who himself chose the method of execution, received a portion of the lead.
“I want the executioner to knock my bad brains out,” Ronnie said in the last word. The judge considered it possible to satisfy his request, and the executioner fulfilled the will of the suicide bomber, who a couple of hours before the execution with pleasure ate Peking duck - his favorite dish, and for dessert received a large cup of espresso and almond ice cream.
Lethal injection
Hanging and gas chambers have not been used in the United States since the late 20th century. These types of executions have survived only in a small number of states, all of which use lethal injection, and the use of alternative methods is in many cases limited by different conditions. For example, only convicts who have committed a crime or received a death sentence before a certain date have the right to choose.
Until February 8, 2008, the proven electric chair was used successfully in Nebraska. It was first used in 1890 and soon replaced hanging in many states. The anarchist Leon Cholgosh, who killed President McKinley in Buffalo, became the 50th criminal to be electrocuted (October 29, 1901) in New York State.
But in the state of Nebraska, under pressure from the public, local lawmakers decided that the electric chair was an excessively cruel form of execution, and switched to lethal injection.
The impetus for this decision was the execution of the serial maniac David Rockwell, who had to writhe in the electric chair for almost half an hour before giving up his ghost. One of the executors of the sentence - professional executioner John Keith - remarked:
- The client was caught too painfully resistant to the effects of electric current. I have not seen such a stubborn suicide bomber in my entire quarter-century career as an executioner.
The history of punishment in the United States has gone through different periods. In the early 1960s, human rights defenders waged a fierce fight against the death penalty. They organized rallies and protest marches, sent petitions to various authorities, demanding a ban on executions.
In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty as a cruel punishment, and therefore contrary to the Constitution. However, the judges disagreed on the motivation for this conclusion. Some considered the death penalty as unacceptable, while others considered it “unacceptable due to the lack of guarantees against miscarriage of justice”.
For several years, no one was actually executed in the United States. However, in 1976, the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty laws of a number of states. It has been rebuilt in 38 states.
Lynching
The first American to be executed after this decision was the sadist and murderer Gary Gilmore, who was shot in Utah in 1977. Further decisions of the Supreme Court stated that the death penalty cannot be applied for rape, as well as an accomplice in a crime who did not commit or plan to kill. The Supreme Court forbade the execution of mentally retarded persons and minors (at the time of the crime). Prior to this, the American Themis was not very kind to young criminals.
It is known that George Stinney was the youngest executed in the United States in the 20th century. He was martyred in the electric chair on June 16, 1944, at the age of only 14, and 70 years later, the judges acquitted him when the case was revised.
In recent years, an African American protest wave has swept across the United States. The organizers of the action believe that the law is extremely harsh on blacks.
Indeed, African Americans (12% of the US population) have accounted for more than 50% of murder charges, 41% of death row prisoners, and 34% of those executed since 1976.
In response to the protests, U. S. Attorney David Hunter said:
- It's no secret that African Americans often grow up in a criminal environment, do not want to work and become law-abiding citizens, and therefore give the highest percentage of crimes among other ethnic groups. The state must somehow defend itself against criminals, and it is difficult to accuse it of bias!
Over the long history of the United States, blacks have known very difficult times when they were subjected to such an inhuman form of punishment as a lynching trial.
For example, in 1901, 130 people were lynched. But with the indigenous inhabitants - the Indians - the conquerors of the American continent did not stand on ceremony at all, they were often executed without trial or investigation.
Could not escape the judge and mistaken death sentences. From 1973 to 2017, 175 people were released from death row with the withdrawal of charges as a result of the review of criminal cases in the United States.
Dying wish
A distinctive feature of the American penal system is the large gap between the imposition of a death sentence and its execution. The average waiting period is ten years. There are times when criminals in prison have time to grow old, awaiting execution. For example, the murderer Stephen Anderson was sentenced in 1980, and he was executed only on June 29, 2002. On January 19, 2005, Donald Beardsley, 61, was sent to the forefathers in San Quentin prison in California, who was convicted of the murder of two women 24 years ago. According to experts, this long wait has positive aspects as well. So, from 1976 to the present day, 150 death sentences were canceled due to the fact that the previously convicted were found not guilty.
In addition to the dying meal, the right of the condemned is the last wish. Usually they ask to give them the opportunity to call relatives, some want to meet with a priest.
The execution ceremony begins with a call from the state governor to the prison governor. The governor utters the fateful words:
- I give permission to start the execution!
After that, armed guards enter the death cell and escort him to the execution area. It happens that the suicide bomber begins to resist violently. Then reinforcements come to the aid of the guards, and the suicide bomber is taken by force to the place of execution.
He is laid on a couch, his arms and legs are fixed with strong straps, then a medical specialist squeezes his ulnar veins and inserts needles into them, through which, at the command of the chief executive, a deadly substance will be injected, and the dose will go only through one of the needles, the second hand serves, as they say, in reserve.
The perpetrator asks if the condemned would like to say some words. Most often, he asks for forgiveness from the relatives of the people he killed, but it happens that the suicide bomber shouts:
- I am not guilty! Do not kill me. This is mistake!
Finally, the executioner gives a signal to his assistant, who is behind the mirrored glass, and he turns on the lethal dose.
As soon as the doctor declares death, the funeral team enters the room and takes the body. He is interred in the prison cemetery under a cross, on which only the serial number of the prisoner and a black cross are indicated, which means that the person was executed.
This is the execution procedure in a country that in many ways considers itself the standard of philanthropy and virtue.
Vladimir PETROV