Nebraska: Electric Chair Is "Torture"

Judges Declare State's Only Death Penalty Procedure Is Unconstitutional

(AP)  A year ago, Carey Dean Moore wrote a short letter to the Nebraska Supreme Court from his cell on death row.

"Appellant wishes to be executed," it said.

On Friday, the court said electrocution is unconstitutional, a stunning response to Dean, nine others on death row and those who question whether the electric chair constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

"Condemned prisoners must not be tortured to death, regardless of their crimes," Judge William Connolly wrote in the 6-1 opinion for the court.

The decision erased Nebraska's distinction as the only state with electrocution as its sole means of execution. State courts are left with the ability to sentence people to death but no way to carry out the penalty.

The high court made the ruling in the case of Raymond Mata Jr., convicted for the 1999 kidnapping and killing of 3-year-old Adam Gomez of Scottsbluff, the son of his former girlfriend. Parts of the boy's body were found at Mata's home in a freezer and dog bowl. Bone fragments also were recovered from the stomach of Mata's dog.

The court said in its opinion that evidence shows that electrocution inflicts "intense pain and agonizing suffering" and that it "has proven itself to be a dinosaur more befitting the laboratory of Baron Frankenstein" than a state prison.

From the conclusion of State v. Mata:

"Mata’s sentence of death is affirmed. But under our system of government, while the Legislature may vote to have the death penalty, it must not create one that offends constitutional rights. We recognize the temptation to make the prisoner suffer, just as the prisoner made an innocent victim suffer. But it is the hallmark of a civilized society that we punish cruelty without practicing it. Condemned prisoners must not be tortured to death, regardless of their crimes.

"And the evidence clearly proves that unconsciousness and death are not instantaneous for many condemned prisoners. These prisoners will, when electrocuted, consciously suffer the torture that high voltage electric current inflicts on the human body. The evidence shows that electrocution inflicts intense pain and agonizing suffering. Therefore, electrocution as a method of execution is cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Nebraska Constitution, article I, § 9. And, without a constitutionally acceptable method of execution, Mata’s sentence of death is stayed."

There are conflicting views on whether federal courts might agree to hear an appeal. Attorney General Jon Bruning said he would ask the state court to reconsider its decision, and spokeswoman Leah Bucco-White said, "We're exploring all our options."

Gov. Dave Heineman's spokeswoman, Jen Rae Hein, said Heineman is considering introducing a bill this legislative session to replace electrocution with lethal injection.

"Today the court has asserted itself improperly as a policymaker," Heineman said. "Once again, this activist court has ignored its own precedent and the precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court to continue its assault on the Nebraska death penalty."

The state's high court said electrocution violated the Nebraska Constitution rather than the U.S. Constitution, a move that one expert on death penalty law said appeared to shield its decision from federal review. But Chief Justice Mike Heavican wrote in dissent that the majority's stated reliance on Nebraska's constitution is misleading because the court based its decision entirely on federal precedent.

The court stressed that its ruling did not strike down the death penalty - just electrocution as the method. Approving another method, however, could prove difficult.

Past attempts to replace electrocution with lethal injection in Nebraska have failed, largely due to the efforts of the Legislature's staunchest opponent of capital punishment, Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha.

Chambers pointed out Friday that a bill to replace the execution method would have to be approved by the Judiciary Committee. That's unlikely, he said, given that on Thursday the committee sent to the full Legislature a bill that would repeal the death penalty.

"It would be stupid and a waste of time and strictly for political purposes to introduce a bill to replace electrocution with lethal injection," Chambers said.

Last year, a state bill to repeal the death penalty failed after first-round debate by just one vote. Bills must go through three rounds before they get final approval.

Legal experts said it doesn't make sense for Nebraska to rush to establish a new method of execution.

Courts across the country have put off several executions pending a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed in September to hear a challenge filed by two Kentucky death row inmates over that state's lethal injection method.

The use of the electric chair began to decline when Oklahoma adopted lethal injection in 1977, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Since 1976, when executions resumed following a U.S. Supreme Court ban, there have been 154 electrocutions and more than 900 lethal injections, Dieter said.

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia still allow electrocution, but some of those states do not allow newly condemned inmates to choose it.

The last person to be executed by electrocution was Daryl Holton on Sept. 12. in Tennessee. Holton, who confessed to murdering four children in 1997, chose the electric chair over lethal injection.

Moore was to have been electrocuted in May, but the Nebraska Supreme Court stopped it less than a week before his scheduled date because of the case it ruled on Friday.

Press writers Oskar Garcia, Josh Funk and Eric Olson in Omaha, Neb., contributed to this report.

[grammawhamma]

Why not let the person on death row decide which method of execution he wants...firing squad, lethal injection, electrocution, hanging, etc? And then carry it out.

[ontheleft]

Living in Nebraska is torture enough.

[kaiyo4u]

GrammaWhamma you make a good point...

It''s not up to us to judge the souls of these people, but their acts, and the expedient way of getting these people to where their souls will be judged is by means of execution.

As far as lethal injection, why do they need to make the cocktail they do? Why don''t they just give them an overdose of morphine? The convicted would not feel anything (maybe some nausea then euphoria before passing).

Death by firing squad would mean bleeding to death...

Of the alternatives, lethal injection, hanging, or electrocution would be the viable methods.

Of course though, the methods of cruel and unusual punishment our forefathers were thinking of at the time were thumbscrews, neck screws, stocks, iron maidens and other carry-overs from the inquisition.

With all the technology today we still cannot agree.

This current society does not want heinous individuals loose, but are also fed up with the high cost of keeping an individual in prison for life.

What are we to do as a society?

[speakinup]

Myself - I think they should harvest body parts.

I can see it now, "Prisoner 6790264, the good news is, you''re leaving today. The bad news is, not all of you is going."

[mcvet]

Why not let the person on death row decide which method of execution he wants...firing squad, lethal injection, electrocution, hanging, etc? And then carry it out.


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Posted by GrammaWhamma at 04:38 PM : Feb 09, 2008
+ report abuse

What if they refuse to pick. Keep in mind that some of those on death row today are not guilty, that''s a given. I wouldn''t pick if I were innocent. When you look at the number of people who have been found to be put on death row in error has grown so much since DNA evidence has been accepted, I can''t agree with ANY state, especially those were human life is rated on your position in the community, putting anyone to death. It''s no telling what the State''s Attorney in these places have done for that conviction. Have any on you ever checked out some of these people? They make Stalag 17 look like it was run by a friendly guy! Sieg Heil and Amen

[mcvet]

Of course though, the methods of cruel and unusual punishment our forefathers were thinking of at the time were thumbscrews, neck screws, stocks, iron maidens and other carry-overs from the inquisition.

With all the technology today we still cannot agree.

This current society does not want heinous individuals loose, but are also fed up with the high cost of keeping an individual in prison for life.

What are we to do as a society?




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Posted by kaiyo4u at 05:23 PM : Feb 09, 2008
+ report abuse

Right or wrong has nothing to do with anything to you does it? YOU are just blood thristy and greedy. You think you are superior to these folks and the fact that they may have been wrongly convicted has never crossed your mind. So we kill a few innocent of the lower class''s no big deal huh? You Nazi''s are really the worst you know!? Sieg Heil Y''all.

[mcvet]

Myself - I think they should harvest body parts.

I can see it now, "Prisoner 6790264, the good news is, you''''re leaving today. The bad news is, not all of you is going."


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Posted by speakinup at 05:28 PM : Feb 09, 2008
+ report abuse

Garbage in Garbage out... thus the working of a Nazi mind! Thanks for proving my point swastika breath. You fascist have always thought like that about those "below" you haven''t you? They aren''t any good so you can use them or any part thereof, anyway you choose? Yeah right! Say aren''t you late for your rally? SIEG HEIL GRAND WIZARD!! ROFLMAO

[michellem99-2009]

Amen Gramma and MCVet. If the bloody fool did the crime and same showed no mercy to the ones they harmed,something is wrorg here..

[fredcs25]

So!Who cares?You are putting to death people that have killed and destroyed other peoples lives with no respect for human life.Let them feel a little pain before they meet their maker.

[dowjones20k]

The high court made the ruling in the case of Raymond Mata Jr., for the 1999 kidnapping and killing of 3-year-old Adam Gomez.

Parts of the boy''s body were found in a freezer and dog bowl at Mata''s home. Bone fragments also were recovered from the stomach of Mata''s dog.

Now this is definitely someone who deserves sympathy from the court ...

His victims family should be allowed to choose his form of death ... Not some stuffed shirt sitting in a chamber who is appointed for life ... with no accountability ..

Who can honestly be an advocate for such a dimented and evil human?

He should be put to death as the jury of his peers decided, fried, put to sleep or shot right between the eyes .. none of these methods would even come close to what he did to this child ...

[sclaires]

Well how are we going to prevent the electrocltion of workers on electrical lines plus others who are accidentally electrocuted one way or the other. Isn''t that a inhumane way to die?? And to think that the way some of these prisoners on death row killed their victims isn''t inhumane then how can anyone say that electroculation is. Better be glad they aren''t in the Middle East and some Southern Asian countries. There are two sisters in Iran who have been sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery even though there was not any *** involved. Then some countries cut off the heads of convicted criminals, shoot them in the head, hang them, etc. Why not let the condemned pick how he wants to be put to death. That would solve a lot of the problems.

[speakinup]

"You fascist have always thought like that about those "below" you haven''''t you? They aren''''t any good so you can use them or any part thereof, anyway you choose? Yeah right! Say aren''''t you late for your rally? SIEG HEIL GRAND WIZARD!! ROFLMAO Posted by MCVet



You haven''t got no azz left mcvet. It''s been laughed off months ago.

So, I''m a fascist for hating killers! Hah - that''s rich. And, of course, according to this liberal, they are all innocent. Yup - liberalism is a mental illness.

Or, maybe you are incarcerated huh. Wow, dude, what did you do ?

(I always did think your posts were so stupid as to be a crime.)

[speakinup]

Phew, TheGateway1. THAT was harsh. I take it mcvet has a history with you, too.

[underdogus]

bring back the guillotine.......

[porromarley]

Hang Him High

[porromarley]

Hang Him High

[grammawhamma]

I''m not for the death penalty because my personal belief is that it is wrong to take a life. However, I am not for pampering those on death row and giving them rights. Once they are proven guilty...life should not be a picnic for them. Prison life should be miserable enough that they have the option of ending it when they have had enough.

[libsrweak]

there is only one way we can get these bleeding heart ''criminal/terrorist'' loving liberals TO AGREE TO EXECUTE THESE LEECHES..

we should start calling them as ''FETUS''

[andor3]

"I am not for pampering those on death row and giving them rights. "

all people have rights. the state does not give them those rights, neither do you. so you cannot "give them" or take them away, and neither can any court, or person.

Of course the death penalty is inhumane. Doctors are banned from participating. Any person who administers the death penalty, or who aids in it, or does not prevent it when given an opportunity is a despicable criminal. No civilized country uses the death penalty, any country that kills people in the name of justice is fatally flawed.

[inventagod]

DickCheney believes ''the chair is designed to be safe, and is in full compliance with the nation''s laws and treaty obligations. They''ve been carefully reviewed by the Department of Justice, and very carefully monitored. The program is run by highly trained professionals who understand their obligations under the law. And the program has uncovered a wealth of information that has foiled attacks against the United States; information that has saved thousands of lives''

[libsrweak]

all people have rights. the state does not give them those rights, neither do you. so you cannot "give them" or take them away, and neither can any court, or person.

Of course the death penalty is inhumane. Doctors are banned from participating. Any person who administers the death penalty, or who aids in it, or does not prevent it when given an opportunity is a despicable criminal. No civilized country uses the death penalty, any country that kills people in the name of justice is fatally flawed.

Posted by andor3 at 08:23 PM : Feb 09, 2008
+ report abuse

**********

the problem with your dumb arse is that you are failing to understand that you are GIVING MORE RIGHTS to crimianls than to victims..WHO IS SAYING ON MORAL GROUNDS??DO YOU WANT TO PAY FOR THESE FU CKING PIECES OF SHI T??

[changenow]

HANIUOS CRIMES DESERVE THE ELECTRIC CHAIR.
EYE FOR AN EYE.

[grammawhamma]

all people have rights. the state does not give them those rights, neither do you. so you cannot "give them" or take them away, and neither can any court, or person.
Posted by andor3 at 08:23 PM : Feb 09, 2008

Excuse me...but what happened to the rights of the victims that were murdered...they were taken away by their killer.

[rushlimpdrug]

But that chair looks so comfortable.

Does it have a drink holder?

Maybe it''s torture because there is no HDTV in the room with cable.

[Krazcarl]

OK you beat someone to death or shot the life out of thier body or beat the life out of thier body or poison them to a low aganizing death or kill children and think its funny. You are cruel and unusual I don''t care how much pain you suffer going out, I say bring back public hanging to tell the masses were serious, Hitler took cyanide. There brutle murders and deserve no sympathy hand them tall why do we have this debate it''s seanceless every human KNOWS it''s wromg to take a life,

[rowdytexan2]

He should have to live out his life in the hell of a 4 x 4 cell having to remember what he did to that child and knowing that he is going to die in it like a rat!

Killing is too good for these people!

[michellem99-2009]

Yes dear Gramma and crameat yes to ye too. Ye can''t vote in the cell..we can''t have it both ways. Ye give the fool life and they know theie life is gravy..better then us..we have to turn it around..years ago a crazy family member robbed an old lady on ss day..he went to d island in Maine..got out and bragged about it.. it a family member by marriage..i was 9 and visting an aunt..that man did not care about the crime he did..or that old lady..to him life was/IS a joke.

[fettkonserv]

Torture is what some murderers deserve!
Execute Execute Execute
I could pull the switch on a convicted murderer, it is more humane to use Lethal injection. Execute Execute Execute

[libsrweak]

so..WHAT IS A HUMANE WAY OF EXECUTING A DEATH ROW INMATE AS LAID DOWN BY THE LAW???

This is a clear effort from the radical left to simply save the lives of these pieces of sht..and not a question of ''torture''

[libsrweak]

I know how..we shove a death row inmate up rosie odonells arse..then we scoop his arse out with a hanger..just like abortion..

[michellem99-2009]

People how do ye wish to fix the problem...just how..they put themselves there. America has more prisons in the free world than any other nation. Some thing is not working.. They put cameras to deter the crime and they use it for their fame.. I can''t see the bloody cameras but I know the vaules taught. It is not yers paws off. We have to fix this prisom issue. Has America gone to hell in a hand basket..I very little faith in her leaders and the bullying nastiness. fix the problem. The govt gets an f.

[tbweb]

Nebraska: Electric Chair Is "Torture"

Ahem! If I''m not mistaken I thought that was the point!

[Krazcarl]

rowdytexan2.. I like yer post but this diesease should be cut out and destroyed keeping someone alive in a cage praying on appeals and lies acomplishes nothing you pay for it naw you don''t wamt to you want to sound good your far crueler than me I say string them up they knew what they don''t care if they were drunk. The man that shot me in the chest and a lady in the head got 40 years he has to serve{we were not romanticly involved just gave her a ride}he gets out if he survives at 69 after 40 years in the pen what good is he to society. Think this one through.

[marcpcbs]

Yah, But it''s the last torture.

We need to adopt the guillotine. It''s quick and almost painless to the participant and it makes all who witness it think twice about breaking the law.

[Krazcarl]

rowdy... He fed a child to a dog after he killed him how on gods green earth could you even think that you are sick and of need of mental health services this is beyond ill.

[grammawhamma]

Does anyone know if they had to kill the dog to examine it''s stomach contents for evidence? I hope not.

[jonesforch]

Eye for a eye....

[brianbwb-2009]

I could pull the switch on a convicted murderer, it is more humane to use Lethal injection. Execute Execute Execute Posted by fettkonserv

If afterward you find that the person you pulled the switch on was not guilty, then how you would justify your guilt for the murder you committed?

[cmp271]

Were the victims given a humane way to die? Why should killers be allowed to have a painless death?

The electric chair is needed! So is hanging and a firing squad as well as lethal injection-the easier route.

I am tired of this bleeding heart stuff. If you kill you should die just as painful and awful a death.

[grammawhamma]

It amazes me that a lethal injection for a convicted killer can be considered cruel and inhumane...when the killing of unborn babies is swept under the rug as a woman''s right. How sad it all is.

[lindu813]

We have now reached the point where empathy for the perpetrator exceeds that of the victim. I''m sure the victim of the person on death row when having their throat slit after being raped and beaten half to death really enjoyed that and could never, never have considered it torture. The United States of America was once a proud nation and did the right thing. I don''t know what we are now.

[stupidrules3]

Let''s keep all the vicious killers alive in jail so they can teach the car thieves and burglars how to be better criminals when they get back on the streets. We have made it so easy on criminals by giving them so many rights that they do not fear prison. I can guarantee that no one who was executed ever killed anyone else. Also, no doctors should be allowed to participate in executions. Their purpose is to save lives and that is not what executions are all about.

[stupidrules3]

Now all we need on this message board is erasmus6 to tell us how much better it is in Canada.

[lindu813]

And, America: WAKE UP!!!! You''re footing the bill to keep these despicable beings in jail. And yet the number one concern in the upcoming election is the poor mess our economy is in right now. Oh well, pull out your visa. You''ll need it as your tax money goes to the prisoners who you''ve allowed to live in spite of what they''ve done to another human being.

[michellem99-2009]

I was visiting my birth mum years ago and she said some thing about visual games..I had not a clue of what she meant. Some I have some on computer. I wont play them killing ones..For the bible I don''t read it. Leave to some one to throw abortion in to this.. has nothing to with this but prisoms are breeding grouds for crimmels..the gangs,they come out meaner .They learn to be better crimmels..The system don''t work.

[Krazcarl]

PSY_WAR...I used to think like you untilll I was a victum of violent crime and watched 2 attempted murders after he shot a lady in the head and shoulder he he kicked her like when you find a dead animal to make sure she was dead I ran off with a bullet in my chest she survived ans was faking death the greatest act of courage I have ever witnessed.From that moment on he became usless to himself and society. I''s east to be open minded in front of a TV but not if you have been there it''s not about forgiveness it''s about riddind society of a cancer, Yes Jesus rescued a woman from being stoned to death but her crime was prostition a victumless crime he never defended a murderer. Take off your liberal sunglasses for a moment and look at the real world you think life on death row is pleasent your crueler than me.

[bb19631]

Cruel and inhumane to use the electric chair? I think, not. I''m sick of my tax paying money being used to support these murderers. Let them fry!! They should feel the pain and suffering. Society, is being to soft on these criminals.

[michellem99-2009]

A not so great nation..She is falling fast. crzmeat I know yer upset that fool is babyed.ather shooting ye..I have met people who can''t wait to kill. My answer they are so sick. Maine has the crimes there that we never heard years ago..I was talking to Dad..We baby the crimmels as a nation. They the mental ill game..We can''t this/that he/she is mentally ill. Bull. I live with mentally ill person and he is so good to me. Would never dream of hurting me or another person. Been toghter as room mates 24+ years.

[scottyusa]

So whats the point? Execution should be cruel and unusual. Its not unusual we have been doing it for years. Murder is cruel so should be execution. Why bother to make it pleasant? If you want to experience a nice peaceful death then don''t murder anyone.

[Krazcarl]

Michelle99..Your a remarkable woman and the subject of many conversatations about my experences on the internet. Pops is ill and heading mak to Me. for a while will be off line for a few days. Stay decent and strong your GOOD people.