JUDGE ALEX KOZINSKI SAYS THAT A GALLOTINE OR FIRING SQUAD ARE THE BEST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT METHODS

U.S. appeals judge called for return of firing squads just days before latest botched lethal injection – but said the GUILLOTINE is probably the best method

   Alex Kozinski, the 9th Circuit's chief judge, is opposed to lethal injections
   He said the guillotine 'is probably best' for capital punishment
   Lethal injections are 'misguided effort to mask brutality of executions'
   'The firing squad strikes me as most promising,' Kozinski remarked

By Ted Thornhill and Associated Press

Published: 03:36 EST, 24 July 2014 | Updated: 04:02 EST, 24 July 2014

Outspoken: Alex Kozinski says that a guillotine or firing squad are the best capital punishment methods

A federal judge has claimed that the US should adopt the firing squad as a method of execution, rather than lethal injection.

The comments from Alex Kozinski, the 9th Circuit's chief judge, came just days before Arizona murderer Joseph Rudolph Wood took nearly two hours to die after being administered drugs for his execution.

Kozinski said: ‘The guillotine is probably best but seems inconsistent with our national ethos. And the electric chair, hanging and the gas chamber are each subject to occasional mishaps. The firing squad strikes me as the most promising.

‘Using drugs meant for individuals with medical needs to carry out executions is a misguided effort to mask the brutality of executions by making them look serene and peaceful - like something any one of us might experience in our final moment.’

The judge aired his views as Wood waged an intense, last-minute legal battle that challenged the state over key information about who supplies lethal injection drugs and how they are administered.

The execution came after the U.S. Supreme Court denied several appeals seeking details about the state's execution methods.

There have been several controversial executions recently, including that of an Ohio inmate in January who snorted and gasped during the 26 minutes it took him to die.

More...

   Botched execution leaves killer gasping for TWO HOURS before dying: Murderer who'd appealed over secret drug cocktail smiled before 'disturbing' death that victims' families say he DESERVED
   Shocking new video shows another NYPD officer choking a suspect after police commissioner ordered 'top to bottom' review of choke-hold policy following death of Staten Island father

Arizona's highest court temporarily halted the execution of the condemned inmate Wednesday morning so it could consider a last-minute appeal before soon allowing it to proceed.

The appeal focused on arguments that Wood, 55, received inadequate legal representation at his sentencing, along with a challenge about the secrecy of the lethal injection drugs.

Scroll down for video
Capital punishment: The firing squad execution chamber at the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah


The execution occurred amid new scrutiny nationwide over lethal injections after several controversial executions.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Arizona to carry out its third execution in the last year following a closely watched First Amendment fight over the secrecy issue.

Wood's lawyers used a new legal tactic in which defense attorneys claim their clients' First Amendment rights are being violated by the government's refusal to reveal details about lethal injection drugs.


Condemned: Despite his execution being halted by a last minute appeal, Arizona double murderer Joseph Rudolph Wood's execution was allowed to go forward Wednesday and he took nearly two hours to die

Wood's lawyers were seeking information about the two-drug combination that finally killed him, including the makers of the drugs.

A federal appeals court ruled in Wood's favor before the U.S. Supreme Court put the execution back on track.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision marked the first time an appeals court has acted to delay an execution based on the issue of drug secrecy, said Richard Dieter, director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.

The 9th Circuit gave new hope to death penalty opponents. While many death row inmates have made the same First Amendment argument as Wood, the Supreme Court has not been receptive to the tactic. The court has ruled against them each time the transparency issue has come before the justices.

States have refused to reveal details such as which pharmacies are supplying lethal injection drugs and who is administering them because of concerns over harassment.

An Ohio inmate in January snorted and gasped during the 26 minutes it took him to die. In Oklahoma, an inmate died of a heart attack minutes after prison officials halted the process of his execution because the drugs weren't being administered properly.

Attorney General Tom Horne's office says Wood was pronounced dead at 3:49 p.m., one hour and 57 minutes after the execution started.

Wood was sentenced to death for killing Debra Dietz and her father, Eugene Dietz, in 1989 at the family's automotive shop in Tucson.

Wood and Dietz had a tumultuous relationship in which he periodically assaulted her. Dietz tried to end their relationship and got an order of protection against Wood.

On the day of the shooting, Wood went to the auto shop and waited for Dietz's father, who disapproved of his daughter's relationship with Wood, to get off the phone. Once the father hung up, Wood pulled out a revolver, shot him in the chest and then smiled.

Wood then turned his attention toward Debra Dietz, who was trying to telephone for help.


Inhumane: Arizona Republic justice reporter Michael Kiefer describes what he saw as a witness to the execution of Wood


Desperate: Arizona's highest court on Wednesday temporarily halted the execution of the condemned inmate so it could consider a last-minute appeal. Wood's death was one of a number of botched executions

Wood grabbed her by the neck and put his gun to her chest. She pleaded with him to spare her life. An employee heard Wood say, 'I told you I was going to do it, I have to kill you.' He then called her an expletive and fired two shots in her chest.

On Wednesday, Wood looked around the death chamber and glanced at the doctors as they made preparations for his execution, locating the proper veins and inserting two lines into his arms.

Wood then uttered his final words, smiled at the victim's family members and made eye contact with a deacon.

Just after declaring that he was at peace with his death, he smiled at the deacon, but for a second, a subtle look of panic took over his face.

Officials administered the lethal drugs at 1:52 p.m. Wood's eyes closed.

About 10 minutes later, the gasping began.

Wood's jaw dropped, his chest expanded, and he let out a gasp. The gasps repeated every five to 12 seconds. They went on and on, hundreds of times. An administrator checked on him a half-dozen times.

He could be heard snoring loudly when an administrator turned on a microphone to inform the gallery that Wood was still sedated, despite the audible sounds.

As the episode dragged on, Wood's lawyers frantically drew up an emergency legal appeal, asking federal and state courts to step in and stop the execution.

'He has been gasping for more than an hour,' the lawyers pleaded in their filings. 'He is still alive.'

The Arizona Supreme Court convened an impromptu telephone hearing with a defense lawyer and attorney for the state to decide what to do.

Wood took his last breath at 3:37 p.m.

Twelve minutes later, Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles L. Ryan declared Wood dead.

The state court was informed of the death while its hearing was underway.

It took one hour and 57 minutes for Wood's execution to be completed, and Wood was gasping for more than an hour and a half of that time.
ARIZONA'S BOTCHED EXECUTION IS LATEST IN A LONG LIST OF PROBLEM LETHAL INJECTIONS IN THE U.S.

— July 23, 2014. Joseph Rudolph Wood gasped and snorted for more than an hour and a half after his execution began in Arizona, prompting his lawyers to file an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court demanding that it be stopped. Wood gasped more than 600 times before he was pronounced dead, one hour and 57 minutes after the execution started. Defense lawyer Dale Baich called it a botched execution that should have taken 10 minutes.

— April 29, 2014. Clayton Lockett's execution in Oklahoma was halted by the state's prison director after Lockett gritted his teeth, tried to lift his head and convulsed. Oklahoma was using a new sedative as part of its three-drug lethal injection procedure. Blinds were lowered to block the view of witnesses. When halted, Lockett already had been declared unconscious by a physician. The state corrections agency said Lockett died later of a heart attack. An autopsy was being conducted.

— January 16, 2014. Dennis McGuire repeatedly gasped during the record 26 minutes it took him to die in Ohio's execution chamber. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said its review determined McGuire was asleep and unconscious a few minutes after the drugs were administered and 'he did not experience pain, distress or air hunger after the drugs were administered or when the bodily movements and sounds occurred.'

— September 15, 2009. In Ohio, inmate Romell Broom avoided execution after prison technicians were unable to find a suitable vein after trying for two hours. Broom even had helped to find a good vein. Then-Gov. Ted Strickland ordered the halt. Broom, who remains on Ohio's death row, has complained that he was stuck with needles at least 18 times and suffered intense pain. He's sued, arguing that a second attempt to put him to death would be unconstitutionally cruel.

— December 13, 2006. When Florida inmate Angel Diaz continued to move, was squinting and grimacing after receiving the injection, a second dose of chemicals was administered. Florida prison officials initially blamed the issue on Diaz's liver problems. An autopsy later found his liver undamaged but that the needle had gone through Diaz's vein and out the other side, meaning the chemicals went into soft tissue and not the vein. As a result, then-Gov. Jeb Bush suspended executions in Florida and named a panel to examine the process.

— May 2, 2006. In Ohio, Joseph L. Clark's lethal injection was stalled for 22 minutes before prison technicians located a suitable vein. Shortly after the execution began, the vein collapsed and Clark's arm began to swell. He raised his head and said: 'It don't work. It don't work.' Curtains were closed while the technicians worked for 30 minutes to find another vein. Clark wasn't pronounced dead until nearly 90 minutes after the process started.

— April 23, 1998. Texas inmate Joseph Cannon made his final statement and the injection process began. When there was no immediate reaction, he had a quizzical look on his face, then blurted out: 'It's come undone.' A vein in Cannon's arm had collapsed and the needle popped out. A curtain was pulled to block the view of the witnesses. Fifteen minutes later, it was reopened and the execution was completed.

— July 18, 1996. Indiana inmate Tommie J. Smith's lethal injection took 69 minutes when prison technicians were unable to locate suitable veins. A physician was summoned to give Smith a local anesthetic. The doctor also tried unsuccessfully to insert the lethal needle in Smith's neck. A vein in his foot finally was successful 49 minutes after the process began. He was pronounced dead 20 minutes later.

— May 3, 1995. Emmitt Foster's punishment in Missouri was halted seven minutes after it began when chemicals stopped. Foster gasped and convulsed and the blinds in the death chamber were drawn. He was pronounced dead 30 minutes later and the blinds were reopened so witnesses could see his body. A coroner who pronounced him blamed the problem on leather straps that bound Foster too tightly to the execution gurney and restricted the flow of the chemicals. The straps had been loosened to complete the punishment.

— May 10, 1994. Serial killer John Wayne Gacy's execution in Illinois was interrupted as the lethal chemicals unexpectedly solidified, clogging the intravenous tube that led into his arm. Prison officials drew blinds to cover the witness window and the clogged tube was replaced. Ten minutes later, the blinds were opened and the punishment resumed. The problem was blamed on the inexperience of prison officials.

— May 7, 1992. Texas prisoner Justin Lee May had an unusually violent reaction to the lethal drugs, gasping and coughing and rearing against the leather belts that restrained him to the death chamber gurney. Amid groans, he lifted his head. His eyes and mouth remained open as he died.

— December 13, 1988. Texas inmate Raymond Landry was pronounced dead 40 minutes after being strapped to the execution gurney and 24 minutes after the drugs started flowing into his arms. Two minutes after the drugs were administered, the needle came out of Landry's vein, spraying the chemicals toward witnesses. The curtain separating witnesses from Landry was pulled, then reopened 14 minutes later after the execution team reinserted the needle. Texas prison officials described it as 'blowout.' Subsequently, a plastic window was erected in the Texas death chamber to separate the inmate from witnesses.


Share or comment on this article


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2703909/U-S-appeals-judge-called-return-firing-squads-just-days-latest-botched-lethal-injection-said-GUILLOTINE-probably-best-method.html#ixzz38RGxGqSq
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
W