Lethal Injection and the False Promise of Humane Execution

With a history marked by incompetence, political maneuvering, and secrecy, America's "most humane" execution method is anything but.

From the beginning of the Republic, this country has struggled to reconcile its use of capital punishment with the Constitution's prohibition of cruel punishment. Death penalty proponents argue both that it is justifiable as a response to particularly heinous crimes, and that it serves to deter others from committing them in the future. However, since the earl...