Prisoner’s Lawsuit

by Duffy McMahon on February 8, 2012 • No comments

One of my pet peeves is frivolous lawsuits. Now, I realize what I consider frivolous may differ from someone else. But, if you don’t agree with me on this…you’re wrong.

In Arizona, three death row inmates are suing the Governor, the state corrections director and the executioners; citing new execution protocols are violating their constitutional rights. Personally, I find it hard to believe that any lawyer would actually take this to court, but then again…it’s a lawyer.

According to the lawsuit, Arizona’s new execution protocol gives the Department of Corrections Director too much discretion in the decision of type and amount of drugs to be dispensed and the training of persons administering the drugs. According to attorney, Dale Baich, the physician who had performed the executions is no longer available and there were some questions regarding other execution team members. Mr. Baich wants to be sure the Department of Corrections has conducted proper background checks and verified the medical licenses of the team. Is that a reason to file a lawsuit? What difference does it make? It’s not as if it’s going to change the end result. No matter how you look at it, a lethal injection is going to be lethal. While you need a medical doctor on site to determine death, you don’t need a medical degree to administer an intravenous needle. Just ask a heroin addict.

Mr. Baich claims that Arizona didn’t follow protocol on previous executions, citing the type of drug used could cause pain when administered. That’s like asking for a nylon rope for a hanging because hemp is scratchy.

The lawsuit claims that the new protocols violate the prisoner’s Constitutional rights. According to Cornell University Law School, “Federal and State laws govern the establishment and administration of prisons as well as the rights of the inmates”. Prisoners do not have full Constitutional rights. They are protected by the Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, due process to administrative appeals, right of access to the parole process, freedom from discrimination along with free speech and religious choice. I couldn’t find anything about death row prisoners being able to select the type of drug used or execution team.
These prisoners committed heinous acts and are now being punished for their crimes. I’ve never been a proponent of capital punishment, not only because our legal system has convicted so many innocent people, but also because the length of time a prisoner spends on death row nullifies any deterrent to committing such a crime.
There are hundreds of prisoners in the United States who’ve been on death row for over 25 years. With all that time, I guess we should be happy there aren’t more frivolous lawsuits.

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