Moratorium on Florida and California Death Penalty is stupid

This post is not about whether the death penalty is justifiable or constitutional. It is about the laughable state of affairs currently existing in Florida and California, two states that currently have the death penalty. It seems that there have been recent botched attempts to put inmates to death in these states, and because of the possibility that the inmates' constitutional protection against cruel or unusual punishment may have been violated by these botched attempts, executions in general have been placed on hold.

Let's examine the insanity of these claims. If we assume that the only people who are actually strapped to the tables are those whose appeals have all been exhausted (and I'm not speaking of guilt or innocence here -- that's fodder for another debate entirely), it seems clear that by this time, it is the state's intent to kill these people. At the rate of something less than 10 executions per year, and no way to do "dry runs" on real people, it's understandable that some procedural errors are going to occur due to lack of practice. After all, when you're trying to stick a hypodermic needle into the arm of someone who doesn't want it there, you might make a mistake caused by stress or personal discomfort. And those types of errors, while not intentional, may cause distress to the inmate when the chemicals start to enter his/her system.

So what constitutes cruel or unusual punishment? My opinion is that to qualify as "cruel", these infractions must be intentional in nature (i.e. wanton torture, either physical or emotional -- which is intended to harass or degrade the inmate). The lawful application of a final judgement, to me, does not constitute an intentional infraction, even if a procedural error occurs in the process.

When you examine any punishment that requires that an inmate be prepared prior to execution, either by being strapped to a table with hypodermic needles inserted, or strapped to a chair with electrodes affixed, there is a possibility that the preparatory procedure will be botched. It is indeed possible that lethal injection, death by hanging, and death by electrocution are prone to a greater degree of error in the preparation. I believe the only process that makes sense is death by firing squad. Human firing squads can practice on dummy targets without a great deal of preparation, and the skills required to deliver death by firing squad are not any different from the skills required to kill in combat, making the act less "unusual" than that of hanging, electrocuting, or injecting someone. However, in this day and age, I don't believe it is fair to place the psychological burden on a human firing squad. The introduction of robotic "marksmen" with laser sighting technology that could home in on a target patch affixed to the inmate over a vital organ would allow for virtually instantaneous death.

If states wish to repeal their laws authorizing executions, let them do so. But while these laws are on the books, the use of a firing squad as a means of execution should allay everyone's fears about cruel or unusual punishment.