Cruel and unusual

Cruel and unusual
EDITORIAL - 12/17/2006

Florida Governor Jeb Bush yesterday said that he would stop signing death warrants until his state’s lethal injection process is reviewed.

Bush didn’t have a change of heart. On Thursday, in a botched execution, convicted murderer Angel Nieves Diaz took 34 minutes to die—twice as long as the process usually takes. He also needed a rare second dose of lethal chemicals.

The executioner’s needles delivered the chemicals to soft tissue in his arms. The chemicals are supposed to go into veins. Witnesses said that Nieves Diaz, who was convicted of killing bar manager Joseph Nagy, appeared to be blinking and mouthing words 24 minutes after the first injection.

That the person who killed Joseph Nagy had to be held accountable is not the debate. But Nieves Diaz, who maintained his innocence, was already behind bars. Prison is by no means a reprieve. Inmates are restricted in movement, communication, and physical contact in facilities with harsh survival rules, and in a society that dismisses rehabilitation.

In a flawed judicial system, communities of color are disproportionately affected by the death penalty. Studies have shown that prosecutors are more likely to seek the death sentence when the homicide involves a black defendant and a white victim.

Innocent people are also at risk. A case in point is the sunshine state, which leads the nation in death row exonerations, according to a watchdog group.

Also, contrary to perception, the death penalty does not deter crime. States—and countries—without the penalty have lower murder rates.

The U.N. Commission on Human Rights has urged the U.S. to abolish the death penalty. It’s time for states to heed that advice and end a cruel practice that’s an all-around bad policy.