Regarding the Oct. 5 news article “Pike remains in critical condition, on ventilator”:
I’m a veterinarian, and I find it unconscionable that the United States abides the death penalty but so regularly bungles the execution. I personally do not support the death penalty, but I believe that if an institution or judicial system elects to utilize death as a form of justice, then it is incumbent on that system to be able to perform the procedure painlessly and reliably.
One of my most important functions is to provide a safe, peaceful and ethical end of life for all species of animals. This is not a complicated procedure, and the administration of a lethal dose of pentobarbital is commonly used for humane euthanasia in dogs.
It is the legal obligation of any health care worker to deliver medication safely, within the permissible routes of administration of the agent, and to cause no unnecessary suffering. The decision to forcibly end a life is a serious one that deserves to be done correctly. If we will not reconsider the ethics of the death penalty, then either the drug and safety protocols used for judicially mandated death need review or there needs to be more training and oversight of the staff performing the procedure.
If cost of appropriate staffing and training is a concern, then making funds available should be of paramount importance to the institutions utilizing this procedure. The cost of training and appropriate staffing is nothing compared with the moral and ethical cost of taking a life — even if that life is an inmate’s.
Kate Hartzler, Toronto
Tennessee’s latest execution disaster exposes an inherent contradiction in execution using lethal injection. The state relies on medical expertise to take a life, yet major medical, nursing and pharmacy professional organizations oppose their members’ participation in executions. Many pharmaceutical companies also object to states using their medicines for executions.
Even if Tennessee were to revise its lethal injection protocol, it would still violate a fundamental moral principle: Individuals have no right to take another person’s life except in self-defense or to protect others from an imminent threat.
The state also frequently makes mistakes. On Sept. 28, Utah released Douglas Carter after more than four decades in prison, much of it on death row, following new DNA testing that excluded him as the source of genetic material on key crime scene evidence. Once the state executes someone, evidence that later casts doubt on the conviction is moot.
A convicted and securely confined prisoner poses no imminent threat. No improvement in execution procedures can justify the state’s power to take the life of a securely confined prisoner.
Jeffrey A. Singer, Phoenix
The writer, a physician, is the author of “Your Body, Your Health Care.”
The Christa Pike situation should compel all of us to rethink the death penalty. The Constitution explicitly prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments.” I believe our courts have made a grievous mistake in finding that capital punishment is not cruel. It is cruel whether the procedure is botched or effective. As a Marylander, I am proud that the death penalty is now banned here. It should be banned everywhere.
Bryan Stevenson, one of the truly great Americans of our time, wrote in “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption”: “The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, Do we deserve to kill?”
Robert Tiller, Silver Spring
Why is the suffering of Christa Pike being given so much attention after the state of Tennessee attempted to execute her? Her situation does not compare to the terror and pain she caused Colleen Slemmer.
I don’t think this case should be used as an example of why the death penalty should be abolished. Nor should Pike’s age at the time of the crime or the abuse she suffered as a child and teen be factors in the severity of her punishment. The logical path forward should be to change the method of execution. Hanging or firing squad would surely accomplish the appropriate punishment for such heinous crimes.
But further sympathy and attention should be shifted away from Pike and toward her victim’s devastated family.
Anne Dodrill, Leesburg
A word about the seventh day
I enjoyed George F. Will’s Sept. 27 column, “‘Integralists’ and their socialist soulmates.” I appreciated the irony that integralists, who wish to “return America to being a ‘Christian nation,’” so badly misunderstand what Jesus meant when he declared, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
After discussing “blue laws,” which restricted work, commerce and pleasure on Sundays, Will said, “Until 1934, Pennsylvania’s piety prevented the Pirates and Phillies from playing home games on the Sabbath.” However, God rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3), which, according to our calendars, is Saturday. In many languages, the word for Saturday is based on the Hebrew word Shabbat, which means “to cease,” “to stop” or “to rest.” Examples include Spanish: sábado; Italian: sabato; Greek: sávvato; Russian: subbota; Czech: sobota; Arabic: al-sabt; Indonesian: sabtu; Filipino: sabado; Malay: sabtu; Baluchi: shambeh. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says Sunday is distinguished from the Sabbath, and the church ceremonially observes it on Sundays.
Marty Bokow, Silver Spring
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The post I give animals an ethical death. Christa Pike deserved the same. appeared first on Washington Post.
