Europeans
largely consider the death penalty a particularly brutal American
anachronism, but the prolonged death of Clayton D. Lockett in Oklahoma,
after a botched execution by lethal injection, produced more than the
usual horror on Wednesday.
Read more: Outrage Across Ideological Spectrum in Europe Over Flawed Lethal Injection in U.S. - NYTimes.com
The
death penalty is banned in the European Union, which has also moved to
ban the export of sedatives like sodium thiopental for use in lethal
injections. The drug’s producer has stopped making it, and other
European companies have sought to prevent their drugs from being used
for executions, fearing European Union sanctions. As a result, the
authorities in Oklahoma, and officials in other states, have been
improvising new mixtures of drugs.
According to the International Commission Against the Death Penalty,
based in Switzerland, Belarus is the only European country that still
carries out legal executions, usually by a gunshot to the head.
But for some Europeans on Wednesday, even that method of killing seemed humane compared with what Mr. Lockett suffered until his heart stopped, about 43 minutes after the process began. Many here agreed with Madeline Cohen, a lawyer who witnessed the execution, who said that Mr. Lockett had been “tortured to death.”
But for some Europeans on Wednesday, even that method of killing seemed humane compared with what Mr. Lockett suffered until his heart stopped, about 43 minutes after the process began. Many here agreed with Madeline Cohen, a lawyer who witnessed the execution, who said that Mr. Lockett had been “tortured to death.”
Read more: Outrage Across Ideological Spectrum in Europe Over Flawed Lethal Injection in U.S. - NYTimes.com
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