US: Electric Chair Banned as Cruel, Unusual Punishment

Nebraska Ruling Brings US Closer to Ending This Inhumane Form of Execution in US(New York, February 8, 2008)
The Nebraska Supreme Court’s ruling today that use of the electric chair violates the state constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment is an important step toward eliminating inherently inhumane executions in the United States, Human Rights Watch said today. Nebraska is the only state to use the electric chair as its sole method of execution; all other US death penalty jurisdictions use lethal injection. “This ruling abolishes the barbaric practice of electrocutions in the state of Nebraska,” said Sarah Tofte, US researcher at Human Rights Watch and co-author of a 2006 report on executions by lethal injection in the United States. The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled today that execution by electrocution violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment found in Article I, section 9 of the Nebraska Constitution. “Condemned prisoners must not be tortured to death, regardless of their crimes,” the court wrote. Since 1994, Nebraska has electrocuted three condemned prisoners. Since the death penalty was reinstated in the US in 1976, there have been at least 10 visibly botched electrocutions, including the 1997 electrocution of Pedro Medina in Florida. During his execution, flames shot out from the headpiece, filling the execution chamber with a cloud of thick smoke and gagging the two dozen official witnesses. An official then threw a switch to manually cut off the power and prematurely end the two-minute cycle of 2,000 volts. Medina’s chest continued to heave until the flames stopped, and then he died. As a result of today’s ruling, the task falls to the Nebraska legislature to consider an alternative method of execution if it wishes to retain the death penalty. Although the court contends that lethal injection “is universally recognized as the most humane method of execution,” Human Rights Watch urged the Nebraska legislature to carefully examine the risk of suffering posed by the three-drug protocol currently used in lethal injections in other states. In January, the US Supreme Court heard arguments on the constitutionality of lethal injection. Pending the court’s decision, there is a de facto moratorium on lethal injections in the country. “Lethal injection is not as humane as it might appear to be,” said Tofte. “There is mounting evidence that condemned prisoners are at risk of suffering excruciating pain. With today’s ruling, the Nebraska legislature has an opportunity to reject methods of execution that cause inhumane pain and suffering.” Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an inherently cruel and unusual form of punishment and a violation of fundamental human rights. To view the Nebraska Supreme Court opinion, please click here.

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So Long as They Die

Check out the link if you have any question in your mind if lethal injections or what they call "humane execution" (which is seemingly contradictory) is not an obscene violation of human rights.

http://hrw.org/reports/2006/us0406/

this weekend

LOL

No, it's not the popular acronym that you're think of, laugh out loud, it stands for Live On Less. It's been a popular phrase lately in the Mayotte household. A couple of weeks ago at a Lydia meeting, the human rights group Mark and I volunteer with, Sandie, the founder was talking about her experience living in Greece. After 13 years of living overseas she was shocked to move back to see how much excess we live in.
This is an obvious concept to anyone with the slightest awareness. And I have always tried to remain conscious of my consumption and waste, but Mark and I have made it into a game in our house, to see who can come up with the most Eco friendly idea. Here are a couple:

-Burying our dogs waste to naturally biodegrade instead of throwing it away to fill up already over-full land fills.
-Hang drying our clothes on the clothes line
-Saving left-overs and making new meals with them
-Shopping primarily at thrift stores for clothes, furniture, art, or presents, or trading clothes at vintage shops
-Trading old CDs for new ones
-Picnics at the park/beach/anywhere instead of eating out
-The crock pot
-Making gifts instead of buying

These are just a few fun ideas, post some if you have some other ideas!

Some haunting facts...

-one million children each year are exploited in the global commercial sex trade

-50% of all trafficking victims worldwide are children

-70-95% of the women in prostitution were sexually assaulted and/or raped according to a study of nine countries

-50% of HIV-infected children, in the absence of any treatment, die by their second birthday

-2.3 million girls and women work as prostitutes and madams in India

-2,000 girls are rescued from sex-slavery each year in India

-200,000 persons are trafficked into, within or through India anually

-$400 million in revenue is generated in Bombay's red-light district

I don't really know where to start...

After spending a much-needed summer in Oregon, Mark and I are back in the OC. I don't really know how else to explain it but we just knew we needed to have some refuge away from the fast-paced living in So Cal. We knew two things we were looking forward to in Oregon, Family and space. Suprisingly, what we were looking for in Oregon, we found in Tustin.

We are living in a cute little 20s house in Old Town Tustin. We have 3 bedrooms, a backyard and an orchard. That's our space. As for family, my little sister decided she couldn't get enough of Mark and I this summer and followed us back to Orange County. She is living with us and going to school at Biola to become a Nurse. It's amazing how all this worked out, just not in the way that I had imagined. It has been so great having family close, but also being in the place that we love, close to all of our friends.

Mark is loving his new job. He is learning great leadership as a Supervisor for a local carpenter and really enjoying working on our house, his basketball league and watching college football.

As for me, I am currently working with a local non profit called Lydia Today: http://www.lydiatoday.org/, which I am very excited about and also volunteering with a group of special needs girls.

More thoughts to come...