The firing squad botched it! Are we OK with this?

 The Guardian, a British daily newspaper: Revealed: Autopsy suggests South Carolina botched firing squad execution. Records obtained by the Guardian indicate shooters did not hit Mikal Mahdi according to protocol, which lawyers say caused prolonged suffering. 

To set up this report, I quote from my HFP essay on March 10: “If there were such a thing as humanity for prisoners, our organization would not exist But, even with what little humanity you might find in our justice system, it took a step backward last week! Having experienced some horrific experiences with lethal injections, the State of South Carolina responded by offering alternatives to prisoners facing execution. After being convicted on a murder charge, Brad Sigmon was allowed to choose between three inhumane methods of execution—lethal injection, electrocution, or firing squad.” 

On April 11 the state carried out its second execution by firing squad. We never heard much about it, but the procedure did not work well. 

As you are well aware, as a person who has actually viewed an execution I have a real problem with the death penalty. Capital punishment in the United States has a significant history of errors, with studies indicating that nearly seven out of ten death sentences have been overturned due to serious flaws. 

Our politicians cannot agree on it. Our churches cannot agree on it. 

Before he left office, former President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 people facing execution by the federal government. He did so after advocates, religious leaders, and even the Department of Justice recommended that the president intervene. 

Then, his successor, Donald Trump told the 37 people on death row who had just had their sentences commuted to “go to hell!” In a mouthy Christmas Day social media post, Trump lashed out at Biden’s decision. He did so after wishing a merry Christmas to political opponents whom he addressed as “Radical Left Lunatics.” 

There’s a similar division in the church. On the Catholic side, our new pope is quoted as saying, “It’s time to end the death penalty.” His predecessor, Pope Francis, said, "It is contrary to the Gospel.” Catholic Mobilizing Network’s executive director, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, said, "Whether someone is shot, electrocuted, injected or gassed, each and every execution extinguishes a God-given life with inherent dignity and worth. Each and every execution is a blatant act of state sanctioned violence." 

On the Protestant side of the church, while some mainline Protestant denominations oppose the death penalty, the majority of white mainline Protestants, as well as white evangelical Protestants, support it. 

Back to the botched execution on April 11. 

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution: “Officials placed a hood over Mahdi’s head. As shots were fired, Mahdi cried out and his arms flexed, and after roughly 45 seconds, he groaned twice. His breaths continued for around 80 seconds, then a doctor examined him for a minute. He was declared dead roughly four minutes after the shots.” 

Dr. Jonathan Arden, a forensic pathologist: “because the shooters missed the intended target area, Mahdi continued to have circulation, allowing him to remain conscious for up to a minute. He suffered a more prolonged death process than was expected had the execution been conducted successfully according to the protocol, and experienced “excruciating conscious pain and suffering for about 30 to 60 seconds.” 

Many and sharp the num'rous ills
    Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves
    Regret, remorse, and shame!
And man, whose heav'n-erected face
    The smiles of love adorn,—
Man's inhumanity to man
    Makes countless thousands mourn! 

Robert Burns