Woman sues US prison over son's 86-minute execution

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Must be dealing with a different class of values

[Aymerlu 3]

I feel sorry for his Mother but there is no sympathy here for him. I had a loved one that was brutally murdered so please excuse if I am sounding a little callous.

86 minutes or 1 minute, perhaps to long or maybe not long enough for him to realize the pain that he has caused to his victim and the victims family, the family that will never see their loved one again because of this murderer.

I do feel sorry for his mother. I can't even imagine how his mother must feel. My best friend and her whole family was murdered by her step dad when I was 18. He then took the easy way out and then killed himself. After investigating the scene of the crime detectives were sure that he had tortured everyone. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my friend and not a day goes by that I wish he would have suffered the way they did.

My husband and I have talked about different crimes and such and in Egypt if there is a heinous crime like this, they would just pop a bullet in them and that's that.

[bryantina 0]

i dont see the problem(or reason for the suing)

the skin on his arm was tough from the drugs hed taken and all the needles so im pretty sure he was used to it.

oh and for dont execute at all...have u seen the british prisoners they now get out early because of overcrowding.

i dont believe in unescecary killing (animals dont do it) but sometimes you gotta do what u gotta do.

you dont call a vet a murderer for putting your pet down (who was the nicest dog in the world)

so why call an executioner a murderer for doing the exact same thing as vet.

unrelated note: my dog died on saturday i made me sad

[jolanda 0]

Exactly how will getting all this money make her son suffer less? Or bring him back?

[Jenn! 918]

No surprise the closet sadism comes out in this thread - just as it does in the countless threads about sexual predators. The predictable, clicheed response is almost always along the lines of:

"He should be done up the #######, have his fingernails pulled out and lit matches placed between his toes". Or some such b/s. Lovely sentiments. I wonder how many people who trot out those kinds of statements would actually be willing to put on a black leather hood and actually carry out their apparent desires. Not many, I suspect.

Frankly - they should be ashamed of themselves and their own inhumanity. Assuming they mean it of course... That said condoning torture its a disgusting subject to even joke about.

Personally I'd like to believe we live in a country where people are rightly appalled by brutality (including that committed by murderers and other criminals) but at the same time want to see justice done in an impersonal humane manner. Yet you have people who seem to idolise the brutal judicial sentences carried out in parts of the middle-east, in which context of course the behaviour is invariably considered disgusting, barbaric and an indictment on those country's human rights record.

I guess I just don't get it (shakes head).

:thumbs:

[Ban Hammer 13,335]

Must be dealing with a different class of values

or maybe some have a better grasp on reality

[Jamie76 0]

Exactly how will getting all this money make her son suffer less? Or bring him back?

It doesn't...but I don't think that really matters to her now.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Must be dealing with a different class of values

or maybe some have a better grasp on reality

Or perhaps 'some' let their emotions cloud their thinking.

[Ban Hammer 13,335]

Must be dealing with a different class of values

or maybe some have a better grasp on reality

Or perhaps 'some' let their emotions cloud their thinking.

you can't admit a mad dog need to be put down, can you?

[desert_fox 32]

too bad it didnt take 186 minutes.

[Lance27 19]

I feel for his mother and I do not agree that anyone should have to suffer 86 minutes even if he was a mass murderer. I do not believe in capital punishment since I do not see how a person will learn if he is executed.. not sure if this is a deterrent to others and if it even works?

I also agree that getting all that money isnt going to bring her son back, however if she does win there should be some kind of clause whereby the money should put towards some fund maybe for her sons's victims or some sort of charity.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Must be dealing with a different class of values

or maybe some have a better grasp on reality

Or perhaps 'some' let their emotions cloud their thinking.

you can't admit a mad dog need to be put down, can you?

Hmmm It's actually the gloating (over other people's pain and suffering) I find objectionable.

[Anais Nin 0]

Since he was put to death, he obviously killed an individual or individuals.

Flawed reasoning. You failed LOGIC in school, didn't you?

Are you aware of how many innocents have been executed on death row? Barbarism.

The advent of DNA testing has freed many inmates from death row.

Check out the documentary, "Murder on a Sunday morning"

[Clarky and Tarah 0]

When someone is beheaded their head stays alive for up to 2 minutes? That is really gross and freaky.

As for the article, I feel really sad for his mother. I don't blame her for suing.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

From the Wikipedia page:

Details of Joseph Clark's crime

When Clark entered a Toledo gas station station at approximately 9:00 p.m. on January 13, 1984, he had his .32 caliber revolver drawn. He demanded money and the attendant, David A. Manning, handed him the money out of the cash register. After receiving the money, Clark claimed that this was not all of the money Manning had. Manning then proceeded to give him an envelope and it was at this point that Clark shot him. Sixty dollars was stolen by Clark in the hold-up.

On January 16, 1984, Clark was arrested after allegedly committing an assault and robbery at an Ohio bank. The arresting officer found a .32 caliber revolver in Clark's coat pocket. The next day, Clark, aware that he was a suspect in the Manning murder, tried to hang himself in his jail cell. On January 23, 1984, he was released from the hospital and taken to the Toledo Police Detective Bureau where he was read his Miranda rights and subsequently confessed to the murder of Manning after his Miranda rights were again recited to him.

Following Clark's indictment for Manning's murder, Clark challenged the voluntariness of his statement to the police, and an evidentiary hearing was held on the issue. At the suppression hearing, a psychiatrist testified on behalf of Clark. Although the psychiatrist had not examined Clark, he had reviewed the medical records from the hospitalization following Clark's suicide attempt, as well as Clark's juvenile records, various police documents, and the court's diagnostic and treatment reports. Based on a review of these records, he noted that Clark's mental function would be considered "borderline defective" based on his reported I.Q. of 75. He also concluded that Clark suffered from acute brain damage and chronic impairment of his mental functioning at the time of his confession (apparently as a result of Clark's recent suicide attempt). The psychiatrist testified that Clark's impaired mental condition would have interfered with his ability to make choices in an informed and reasonable manner and would have rendered him more susceptible to pressure or duress from others.

The prosecution offered in response the testimony of the officers who interrogated Clark and the testimony of Clark's attending physician, who concluded that, from a medical-neurological standpoint, Clark was capable of making a decision on waiving his rights. Following the suppression hearing, the state trial court determined that Clark voluntarily and knowingly waived his right against self-incrimination. Clark's confession was subsequently introduced at trial.

Notable execution

Clark's execution was notable for a number of reasons. He spent 21 years and 5 months on death row, making him one of the longest-serving inmates between sentencing and execution. He also gave the longest (10 minutes) final statement according to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Clark's execution also was most notable and controversial because it took officials nearly 90 minutes to complete the process. The problems began when the staff was unable to find two suitable veins to attach the IV lines leading to the lethal chemicals. Clark had an extensive history as an intravenous drug user, making his veins weak and brittle. Under the state's execution protocol, two veins were required with the second serving as backup should the main line fail. After unsuccessfully trying to find a suitable second site for nearly 30 minutes, the staff opted to move ahead with only the single main line.

Shortly after the chemicals began flowing Clark shouted, "It don't work. It don't work," and attempted to raise his head and upper body, according to witnesses. Director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Terry Collins, on just his second day as head of the department, ordered the curtain to the visitors' gallery closed while execution team members strived to find another suitable vein. It took another 40 minutes before the second vein was found and the execution continued. By 11:26 a.m. Clark was dead.