Cruel And Unusual

Maybe I'm just cynical, but it seems to me that a man who sits on death row and tries to slit his wrists a mere day before he is scheduled to be executed ought to be left to die. The only reason that he wasn't is that the US Constitution is against what it calls 'cruel and unusual' punishment. Apparently if a man tries to slit his wrists, a question of his mental competency arises, because presumably would-be suicides are patently off their chump. Anytime somebody attempts to top themselves, they are shipped off to some mental facility. And killing a mental patient is cruel and unusual.

"Oh, you're suicidal, you must be bonkers. Why would anyone seriously want to kill themselves?"

There are plenty of reasons, but you don't have to be a loony to have a reason. All it takes is for a person to see no other way of easing their pain.

Things need to change, attitudes toward mental illness need to change. Maybe people who want to die are not mentally ill, but just fed up.

But this guy on death row... sorry, but if you try to end it all just hours before someone else ends it for you, then you are not really wanting to die, are you? You're just trying to delay things and pervert the system. You know they'll try to save your life, and then there'll possibly be a hearing to determine whether you are mentally capable. And who knows, paint a desperate enough picture and you might get to spend the rest of your naturals in a low-security facility for wingnuts. 24/7 hotel, baby. Jackass.

This 31-year old asshole who killed three people, two of them kids, in a burglary attempt in 1998, needed emergency resuscitation. The people who were his executioners had to revive him, so they could kill him later.
However, until the system changes, this sort of thing is likely to recur.

All of this happened in Georgia. I'm sure them good ole boys wuz mighty ticked off when their God-given right to exact revenge on a murderin' scumbag had been wrested from their grip just hours before the big moment. 'Taint right to kill, but sure as heck ain't right to stop 'em from killin' in the name of the Lord, and the law. No sirree. And now this guy has till 2pm on Thursday to prove he's a wack-job.

Here's the full story...

Georgia Man Brandon Rhode Gets Temporary Stay of Execution After Suicide Attempt

By Alan Harten on September 22, 2010

As time runs out for Teresa Lewis, the Virginia woman scheduled for execution on Thursday despite worldwide controversy over her mental capacity, another death row inmate – this time in Georgia – has been granted a temporary stay of his execution, because he attempted suicide hours before he was scheduled to die.

Thirty one year old Brandon Joseph Rhode was due to be put to death by lethal injection at 7pm on Tuesday night. But, as first reported by the Associated Press, some hours before- either on Monday night or early Tuesday – he attempted to commit suicide and was transported to a hospital for treatment.

In light of the events the Georgia Supreme court granted a stay of execution until 2pm on Thursday, to allow Rhode access to counsel.

Rhode’s attorney filed a motion with the court that his client is incompetent and for him to be executed would violate Georgia’s standards for cruel and unusual punishment. If such an appeal fails the execution is likely to be rescheduled for 9 a.m on Monday.

Rhode and an accomplice, Daniel Lucas, were both sentenced to death for killing three members of the same family during a botched robbery attempt in 1998.

11-year-old Bryan Moss, 15-year-old Kristin Moss and their father, 37-year-old Steven Moss were all shot dead by the pair, one by one as they returned home from school and work interrupting Rhode and Lucas’ attempt to rob their home. They were discovered by wife and mother Gerri Lucas when she returned home sometime later, after the killers had fled the house.

Daniel Lucas has yet to exhaust his appeals and no date has been set for his execution as of yet.

Well, I've probably opened a big can of worms with this one. I'm a pacifist, but for some reason I want this guy to get what's coming to him. I am a dichotomy.