Sentencing the Electric Chair
When the United States became an independent nation, a Constitution was made which guaranteed certain inalienable rights to its citizens. Within the constitution there are 27 amendments. These cover the most important rights that the United States people have. Over the past few years there has been an ongoing conflict in the state of Florida of whether the Eighth Amendment is being violated by the continued use of the electric chair as a form of capital punishment. According to some, the Electric Chair is violating this part of the Constitution, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment” (US Constitution). Florida has acquired a history of “messy” executions over the last three years because of several incidents, which made it appear that the inmate was in pain or otherwise being treated with cruelty. The issue, facing Florida’s Electric Chair, is whether or not its use is constitutional because it violates the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society. In order to make a decision on whether Florida’s electric chair would fit the qualities of cruel and unusual the term must be defined. According the Florida Supreme Court case of Jones vs. State in 1997, “In order for a punishment t . . .
Florida House Speaker John Thrasher referred to Davis as a, “soulless monster (Word para. ’” The evolved standards of decency would be referring to alternative methods of execution, which are considered more humane than electrocution. Loose construction on the other hand is leaves lots of room for interpretation. The other aspect of the execution that made it appear that Davis could have felt pain was that his chest made “several more chest movements” (Briefs 19) before his body slumped in the chair. This caused it to appear that the chair caused him to bleed. In the execution of Allen Lee Davis blood dripped from his nose, out of the mask, onto his white shirt making it highly visible (Bragg para. It is a very literal way of examining and adhering to the laws set forth in the Constitution. The current flowing through his body may have prompted the nosebleed, but could not have caused any pain because his brain would have already ceased to function. So the chair is in impeccable condition and is maintained very well. The Constitution stays that he can be removed from office if he has committed “high crimes or misdemeanors” (US Constitution Art. Lethal injection is favored in most states because it causes death with no visual display of any sort. II) Depending on how one interprets that statement would determine whether or not Clinton should’ve been removed from office. In the Eighth Amendment the creators of the Constitution left plenty of room for loose construction. Also, by the time Davis did attempt to speak, they were too far in the execution proceedings to stop.
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