With Fixes In Place, Crist Is Right To Lift Ban On Death Penalty

Published: May 16, 2007

Gov. Charlie Crist is right to begin signing death warrants now that stricter protocols are in place to ensure that the death penalty is properly carried out.

The new process should give the governor - and all Floridians - reassurance that future executions will go off as expected, in as humane a manner as possible.

It's a paradox, of course, that we concern ourselves with the prisoner's welfare as he is put to death.

But the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush put executions on hold in December after it took convicted killer Angelo Diaz more than half an hour to die after receiving a three-drug injection to end his life.

Usually the process takes 15 minutes at most, so Diaz's prolonged death gave opponents of capital punishment ammunition for their cause. A task force studying the procedure says the execution team missed Diaz's vein when they administered the drugs.

Witnesses said the condemned man's eyes were open and his face was contorted as he gasped for air for many minutes.

Such graphic descriptions even make supporters of the death penalty squirm.

But the new protocols should prevent a repeat of the Diaz execution.

A larger execution chamber will be created and equipped with cameras so that everyone can monitor the condemned prisoner.

At least one person will be able to speak the prisoner's language and the execution team will receive extra training in the entire process.

Medical doctors still will not administer the lethal dose - the American Medical Association forbids doctors from participating in executions and most medical professionals take oaths preventing them from doing harm. But it doesn't take an advanced degree to learn how to inject a needle without inflicting extreme pain.

Although physicians on the governor's commission protested that medical personnel are the only ones capable of properly performing a lethal injection, people all over this state have been taught to perform injections on themselves or loved ones.

Some critics also complain that the three-drug combination is cruel and unusual, but the man who created it denies it.

"This protocol will work if it's administered as it should be," said A.J. Chapman, the Oklahoma medical examiner who concocted the mixture 30 years ago. "If it is competently administered, there will be no question about this business of pain and suffering."

The Department of Corrections should explore other chemical combinations to ensure that it has found the most humane mixture, but one can't get around the fact that these drugs are intended to kill.

The death penalty should be rare and reserved for those who have committed the most heinous crimes.

In fighting lethal injection, death penalty opponents would make victims of these monsters, which is why the state has a duty to be above reproach in delivering the ultimate form of justice.