Mississippi’s Attorney General Jim Hood has asked the legislature to approve the firing squad as a method of execution for condemned prisoners, citing growing difficulty in getting approved drugs to carry out lethal injections. He has also requested the use of electrocution and the use of nitrogen gas. The ACLU has rejected all three proposed changes. I don’t know why. Even though it would mean those people will have a way to die, they will still be able to vote for democrats into perpetuity.
The problem seems to be with foreign pharmaceutical companies. They refuse to sell the drugs to entities within the United States if they are going to be used in administering the death penalty. These proposals aren’t new. Last summer, Utah approved the use of a firing squad and Oklahoma became the first state to approve using nitrogen gas. Nitrogen gas is generally considered to be humane. The gas causes nitrogen-induced hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen in the blood.
Hood also wants the legislature to block the information on what company supplies chemicals used in executions and the names of the people who carry them out. This is to stop the harassment of companies and individuals who are carrying out a legal execution:
“What we’re seeing is people abusing these pharmacies, the execution team, putting their names and faces and personal information up on the internet.”
The Mississippi Supreme Court has heard arguments on keeping the names secret but have not ruled yet. A lower court ruled that the information should be public and anti death penalty groups argue there is no evidence that people are being harassed over their participation. I have a simple question. Other than for the intimidation factor, of what use is that information? None. The idea is to make it too uncomfortable for people carrying out the executions.