A judges viewpoint on the death penalty

Chief Judge of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a blistering dissent on Arizona's attempt to carry out the execution of Joseph Rudolph Wood until prison officials reveal the two-drug combination that will be used. Here is an excerpt from Judge Alex Kozinski's dissent. 


"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 moments. But executions are, in fact, nothing like that. They are brutal, savage events, and nothing the state tries to do can mask that reality.

Nor should it. If some states and the federal government wish to continue carrying out the death penalty, they must turn away from this misguided path and return to more primitive—and foolproof—methods of execution......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. Eight or ten large-caliber rifle bullets fired at close range can inflict massive damage, causing instant death every time. 

There are plenty of people employed by the state who can pull the trigger and have the training to aim true. The weapons and ammunition are bought by the state in massive quantities for law enforcement purposes, so it would be impossible to interdict the supply. And nobody can argue that the weapons are put to a purpose for which they were not intended: firearms have no purpose other than destroying their targets. 

Sure, firing squads can be messy, but if we are willing to carry out executions, we should not shield ourselves from the reality that we are shedding human blood. If we as a society want to carry out executions, we should be willing to face the fact that the state is committing a horrendous brutality on our behalf. . . If we, as a society, cannot stomach the splatter from an execution ... then we shouldn't be carrying out executions at all."
Alex Kozinski
Chief Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals