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THE US STATE of Texas killed its sixth death row inmate of the year yesterday, prison officials said, after replenishing a lethal injection drug that some manufacturers have refused to sell for executions.
Manuel Garza, 35, was declared dead by lethal injection at 6.40pm local time in the execution chamber in Huntsville, said Texas prisons spokesman Jason Clark.
Garza was sentenced to death for killing a police officer in February 2001 with the officer’s own gun.
This is the first execution carried out in Texas after the state restocked its supply of pentobarbital, a barbiturate that is included in the lethal injection cocktail used on death row.
Some drugs companies have refused to sell the chemical to put death row inmates to death, and Texas came close to putting executions on hold until it was able to restock the drug. Other states are currently facing similar shortages.
An anonymous manufacturer sold pentobarbital to the state, which carries out about one third of all death row executions in the country — the most out of any US state.
Clark said the fresh supply of pentobarbital will allow the prison to carry out two more scheduled executions in April. There are three additional executions set to take place after April, but Clark did not say whether the prison had adequate drugs to carry those out.
“We will be able to carry out executions that are scheduled for April with the new purchase,” Clark told AFP earlier.
The US Supreme Court is due to consider the constitutionality of lethal injection — the most common form of execution in the United States, but one that has become increasingly controversial.
In 2008, the court ruled that lethal injection was constitutional, but that was before recent shortages in the most commonly used drugs prompted state officials to come up with lethal medication cocktails that appeared to cause pain and suffering in inmates during some recent executions.
This is the 13th execution of the year in the United States.
- © AFP 2015.
I never really understood what the death penalty is trying to achieve. It seems to take the assumption that criminals won’t commit a serious crime for fear of the consequence of being put to death.
If criminals committing serious crimes had a fear of the consequences then half the prisons of the world would be empty
The same could be said for long prison terms. It depends on how you look at the prison system really. If you look at it as simply a way to deter other criminals then it is not effective on it’s own. If you look at it as a way to rid society of a particularly dangerous person then it is generally effective.
I think it better than the irish policy of killing someone and been released after 5/6 years, then strolling off to the airport and going on holidays…
you wouldn’t be saying that if you committed murder in ireland. I reckon the whole system has to be overhauled and reform detention centre’s for re-offenders. Kind of like emerald city in the tv show ‘OZ’ but more realistic. Education and learning what make’s each individual tick is the key here, not lock them up eave them out mentality.
Yeah as you say it applies to long term sentences as well, they don’t seem to work as a deterrent either. The whole justice system seems fundamentally flawed. No matter what the punishment its going to be reactive, without proactive measures to stop crime all that will happen is more and more prison overcrowding
Bring it to ireland
What? State sanctioned Barbarism? No thanks http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/13/opinion/152-innocents-marked-for-death.html?referrer=
To test in pidgeons of course
I get the usual points raised by anti death penalty crowd. But in that case it would be good if life jail term actually meant life jail term – not 10 years.
Companies get sued for false advertising. Life jail in Europe is the biggest false advertising to me I heard.
Watch the brilliant documentary ‘Into the Abyss’ by master filmaker Warner Herzog.
It will really force you to re think those views you have in favour of the death penalty :)
Backward, uneducated, god loving savages…god and violence go hand in hand and a terrible example to children…”we kill people to show that killing people is wrong”…duh!…spa’s
An eye for an eye
And everyone is blind.
@Paul Lane – how do you make out that God and violence go hand in hand? Did you just make that up?
Not true, the last man will have one eye left. Serious crimes deserve serious punishment including the loss of ones right to life. We are too soft in this country and should have at least one method of execution available to our courts.
Have ye read the bible? God be like “Here sheep, kill your son if you love me”. Sheep be like “ok”. God be like “Ahhhhhhh, only joking, I will kill the majority of the human race one day”.. God is a violent wind up merchant :)
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
Being locked up behind bars with no human contact other than being fed is punishment enough .
Exclusive from our star witness Michael Clinton!
Can’t see a police officer facing the same treatment for killing an innocent person like in recent times..
In Texas if you kill someone you could get the death penalty in Ireland you could be freed in 5 years with a couple of million euros in the bank account all set for a new life in the sun.
Who has the better justice system?
Death penality is and can be proved wrong when evidence found can acquit someone of a crime. No point in saying oops we made a mistake after someone is injected to death
I suppose it’s slightly preferable to having the cops execute them before they even get charged.
Could use it in the southern parts. Cork could be the Texas of Ireland!
Ah Texas will you ever learn?
Good enough for them they won’t do it again
What about those who didn’t do it and are executed Brian?
Good, we should have the death penalty here!
Trolling would be a capital offence and you’d be first to be ceremoniously despatched
As long as innocent people can be executed, there is no justification for this. What about the lad in Alabama last week who was exonerated after 30 odd years on death row? Anyone who supports this is a savage, backward animal. If it’s such a deterrent why is the crime rate in the good ole US of A still so high? Ask yourselves that before you thump your bible you rotten rednecks.
Should be same here for those found guilty of capital murder, terrorism and child rape
Good these thugs brought pain n suffering by murdering ppl so I say fair play if they’re execution is painful
The most worrying thing about a barbaric law like the death penalty, is how many people in this country seem to think it’s actually a good idea.
Child rape, while probably the most horrible crime imaginable, still doesn’t warrant the death penalty. Firstly, most of these rapes are committed by relatives, so if the death penalty was in place the chances of it being reported would drop drastically. Secondly, it creates an added incentive to murder the child, insofar as the rapist will think their chances of not being caught would be better if the child wasn’t around to talk about it. The justice of the rusty knife would be far more applicable in these cases.
Just a quick question. …should someone who murders someone else and leaves family and love ones with that person forever, be allowed to live and have their loved ones be able to visit chat and engage in their lives?? I think not if you take someone’s else’s life you should not be allowed live yours regardless of how barbaric it may be after all that person didn’t cars how much he or she hurt the other person
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