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
The problem with judging whether Electrocution is cruel or unusual punishment is how one interprets the constitution changes the definition. There are two extremes of interpretation, which are known as strict construction and loose construction. Strict construction is when one takes the Constitution word by word with no room for interpretation. It is a very literal way of examining and adhering to the laws set forth in the Constitution. Loose construction on the other hand is leaves lots of room for interpretation. One recent example where interpretation of the Constitution played a large role was in the Impeachment of President Clinton. The Constitution stays that he can be removed from office if he has committed "high crimes or misdemeanors" (US Constitution Art. 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. It depends on the individual's translation as to what cruel or unusual punishment is. To the victims of the crime no punishment could possibly be cruel enough in most cases, while if you were the criminal's mother you might think that anything more than jail time would be too much, let alone electrocution. When the electric chair first started to be used for execution it was considered very humane. When compared to death by other methods of execution, such as hanging, lethal gas, firing squad, or other ways, electrocution is very humane. The newest and most widely used form of execution in the United States is lethal injection. Two other executions in Florida's Electric Chair also yielded shocking results. In the executions of Pedro Medina and Jesse Tafero flames were observed coming from the inmates heads after current was turned off (Dedman para. 7). When the public heard of this, many people thought that the inmates were still alive at the time of the flames started. This however was not true. The inmates still received the amount of current that the present guidelines require. The flames were caused by the use of a synthetic sponge instead of a natural sponge under the headpiece. The sponge, however, is a very important part making sure that the inmate is executed painlessly. The moistened sponge conducts current extremely well to the inmate's head. Although it is undesirable that the sponge catches on fire, it is not causing the inmate any pain because the electricity has already ceased. After it was discovered that the synthetic sponges were to blame for the f
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1748
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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