Are dirty deeds really done dirt cheap? And how did they let out the bid for that one?
I read with interest the AP story in the Rapid City Journal website on the changes in rules to take care of problems which arose in the last minute stoppage of last year's death penalty, as I'm catching portions in what's being said that I question whether or not they can really do that.
So, the people being contracted to do the execution are from another state, and their identities are secret? (Aside from the fact I heard through the grapevine where they were from over the past year since the aborted sentence) I'm scratching my head at that statement. There's a lot involved with this that I would anticipate would be public information, unless excluded from the public domain by law.
If they're a consultant or a vendor, wouldn't those contracts be considered public documents available and on file? And wouldn't the voucher for payment of the aborted execution attempt be public? I understand that information isn't public unless state law says it is (at least according to the Argus vs. the State of SD), but I think the law says much of it is specifically open.
But then again, this is one of those areas that I think the general public is a bit squeamish about. No one really knows - or wants to know - who's doing one of the most thankless jobs. In fact, we're so squeamish about it we're contracting it out.
Which makes you think - How would you go about letting the bids out for that one? And would the letters with the return bids have little logos on the stationery with hangman nooses, or little electric chairs on them? And how low would the low bid go?
In all seriousness, it IS a dirty deed, and we don't care if it's done dirt cheap. We just want it done.
The new policy makes it clear that physicians will not be required to attend an execution. The Legislature put those provisions in law after doctors said taking part in executions would violate the oath that requires them to preserve life or save life whenever possible.Read that all here.
State law and prison policy require that executions be conducted by people trained to do intravenous injections. Officials told lawmakers earlier this year that the state planned to hire people who have conducted executions in other states. Reisch said he cannot reveal where those people are from because the state must protect the privacy of those involved in executions.
"The people who are going to perform these functions will be qualified to do so, and they won't be members of our own Department of Corrections staff," Reisch said.
So, the people being contracted to do the execution are from another state, and their identities are secret? (Aside from the fact I heard through the grapevine where they were from over the past year since the aborted sentence) I'm scratching my head at that statement. There's a lot involved with this that I would anticipate would be public information, unless excluded from the public domain by law.
If they're a consultant or a vendor, wouldn't those contracts be considered public documents available and on file? And wouldn't the voucher for payment of the aborted execution attempt be public? I understand that information isn't public unless state law says it is (at least according to the Argus vs. the State of SD), but I think the law says much of it is specifically open.
But then again, this is one of those areas that I think the general public is a bit squeamish about. No one really knows - or wants to know - who's doing one of the most thankless jobs. In fact, we're so squeamish about it we're contracting it out.
Which makes you think - How would you go about letting the bids out for that one? And would the letters with the return bids have little logos on the stationery with hangman nooses, or little electric chairs on them? And how low would the low bid go?
In all seriousness, it IS a dirty deed, and we don't care if it's done dirt cheap. We just want it done.
Comments
Mighty generous with the "wes", arentcha?
No, "we" aren't all as filled with bloodlust as you, PP. "Vengeance is mine," saith Pat.
People who think the death penalty gives closure to victims families could not be more wrong. It appears to me that the long appeals process takes them down a path that makes them more frustrated and angry until the only thing that will satisify them is the death of the person who hurt them. The problem is that the person who is put to death is seldom the same person who caused them their pain. Time often turns the heartless killer into a person who has grown older and remorseful and has come to love and be loved by others. They often seek forgivness that is seldom given and in the end, the tables are turned and the murderer becomes the murdered. Those who love and care for the condemed become the victims while many of the seemingly innocent citizens cheer the death of a fellow human being.
Taking a human life is never a good thing; weather it is an unborn innocent baby or a convicted killer. The world will not be a better place when Page is dead. Anyone who thinks it will be is wrong.
jrm; To equate the murder of the innocent unborn with the termination of a cold blooded killer is an example of the liberal secularist notion of relativism.
The death PENALTY is not just meant to end the suffering of victims families, it's also meant to end the suffering for the public AND the perpetrator of the crime.
pp, I thought you excommunicated Bird Flu Bob.
coffeemonkee, sometime the executed are innocent...
sorry, didn't mean to ruin your theoretical premise.
have a good day!