The Prison Thread

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Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

The only company in the US that makes sodium thiopental for lethal injections is stopping production.

quote:

COLUMBUS, Ohio � The sole U.S. manufacturer of a key lethal injection drug said Friday it is ending production because of death-penalty opposition overseas � a move that could delay executions across the United States.

Over the past several months, a growing shortage of the drug, sodium thiopental, has forced some states to put executions on hold. And the problem is likely to get worse with the announcement from Hospira Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill.

Hospira said it decided in recent months to switch manufacturing from its North Carolina plant to a more modern Hospira factory in Liscate, Italy. But Italian authorities demanded a guarantee the drug would not be used to put inmates to death � an assurance the company said it was not willing to give.

"We cannot take the risk that we will be held liable by the Italian authorities if the product is diverted for use in capital punishment," Hospira spokesman Dan Rosenberg said. "Exposing our employees or facilities to liability is not a risk we are prepared to take."

All but one of the 35 states that employ lethal injection use sodium thiopental. In nearly every case, they use it as part of a three-drug combination that sedates and paralyzes the inmate and stops the heart.

There are other, similar sedatives on the market, but substituting one drug for another would require new laws or lengthy administrative processes in some states, and could also lead to lawsuits from death row.

Similarly, switching to another manufacturer could invite lawsuits from inmates demanding proof that the drug will not cause pain in violation of their constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Hospira is the only sodium thiopental-maker approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Like most other European countries, however, Italy does not have capital punishment and opposes the death penalty. Italy's Radical Party brought a motion to Parliament, which passed overwhelmingly on Dec. 22, requiring Hospira to ensure that the drug would be used only for medical purposes and would not find its way into prisons.

The current shortage of the drug in the U.S. has delayed or disrupted executions in Arizona, California, Kentucky, Ohio and Oklahoma.

In the fall, states including Arizona, Arkansas, California and Tennessee turned to sodium thiopental made in Britain. That supply dried up after the British government in November banned its export for use in executions.

Europe says "gently caress You!" to US executions and good on them for doing so. But for the love of god, don't read the comments section after the article.

"Like most other European countries, however, Italy does not have capital punishment and opposes the death penalty" Out of 50 European countries, only 2 still have the death penalty on the books: Belarus and Latvia. In Latvia, it only applies for crimes committed during war time. Belarus did execute two people last year, but currently have noone awaiting execution.

But it's not all good news:

quote:

But California, which placed an order for 521 grams of the drug before the ban, filed a notice in federal court Friday that the order had been received. The state's lethal injection protocol calls for preparation of 3 grams of the drug for execution, along with 3 grams on a backup tray. Prisons spokeswoman Terry Thornton said portions of the drug are also used for training.

Oklahoma has gone a different route, switching to pentobarbital, an anesthetic commonly used to put cats and dogs to sleep. The state has conducted two executions with that drug.

California has enough of the stuff to kill anywhere between 86 and 172 people and Oklahoma is adding insult to injury by using drugs designed for animals.

Megillah Gorilla fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Jan 23, 2011

# ¿ Jan 23, 2011 13:50

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 06:24

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Boy accused of murder when he was 11 years old faces life without possibility of parole

Naturally, the state is also trying him as an adult. Certainly, when I think of an 11 year old I think of a mature adult.

In the entire world, only the US and Somalia sentence children to life without possibility of parole. In Pennsylvania, all children are tried as adults by default unless a judge orders otherwise.

And because you can't have this sort of case happen without some sadistic icing on the cake:

quote:

When he was first presented to court Brown was made to wear shackles around his wrists and ankles.

Look at him, how could you even explain to someone that young what "the rest of your life" means?

Megillah Gorilla fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Jan 27, 2011

# ¿ Jan 27, 2011 01:50

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

I have massive problems with the idea of prisons being run for profit by private enterprise.

But mental hospitals, too? That's beyond morbid. Mental hospitals are there to help the most desperately needful members of society, they should never be run for profit.

It's sickening. It's monstrous.

EDIT - To clarify, I don't have problems with private mental health clinics. Removing public facilities altogether is what I have problems with.

Megillah Gorilla fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Feb 27, 2011

# ¿ Feb 27, 2011 05:05

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Ah yes, the incredible evil of spending $218 per inmate per month on food. Or around $7 a day.

The reason the meals are so good in prison is that the prisoners cooking them are usually actual chefs and making inventive meals is their only release from what is otherwise a very unpleasant existence.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2011 02:49

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Yes, Australian prisons. The article I was replying to was from one of the lovely local newspapers designed for the knee-jerk segment of the population. It's all 'foreigners taking our jobs', 'boat people overrunning the country, why doesn't the navy sink them', and Andrew Bolt. He's Australia's very own Glen Beck, but without the charm.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2011 00:45

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

JustNorse posted:

I�m Norwegian, so using this thread to ask something I�ve been wondering about � how does it work for people when they get out of prison, be it on probation or on a full release? I�m especially thinking of getting back in a job. Do all jobs require them to check some box on a paper saying that they have done time? And how far will that block them from getting a job?

I can only speak for Australia, but for jobs or anything else, like passports, that requires a police check, they only look back 10 years.

However, some sensitive jobs ask "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" without a timeframe. Of course, how they would ever check after the requisite ten years is a mystery to me.

Again, if that sort of thing is even legal in Norway, I can't say.

# ¿ Apr 14, 2011 16:58

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Oh, gently caress me.

# ¿ May 22, 2011 04:09

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

foobyfooby posted:

Because somebody has to pay for the drug tests and poo poo (and the state sure as gently caress isn't going to cover it)?
I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.

He's probably like me and has never heard of people on probation being required to pay for the 'privilege'.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2011 16:35

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

I can't speak for the US, but in Australia a background check doesn't name the crime at all. You get a 'yes' or 'no' to whether the person had been convicted of anything in the last ten years and that's it.

So the crime itself is immaterial; murder, rape or too many parking tickets - all will ensure you don't get that job.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2011 05:23

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Shimrra Jamaane posted:

Feds: Mississippi county runs 'school-to-prison pipeline'

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/10/us/mississippi-juvenile-justice/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

This has been going on for a while now, but it looks like Mississippi has taken it to a new level.

quote:

The alleged mistreatment included youngsters being "crammed into small, filthy cells and tormented with the arbitrary use of Mace as a punishment for even the most minor infractions -- such as 'talking too much'

And to make it as plain as I can - these are highschool kids who have been thrown in jail for playing up at school.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2012 04:15

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

It really is a massive divide in society. At its simplest, one part wants to live in a world where we help each other. The other wants a world based on suffering.

# ¿ Aug 26, 2012 04:40

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

Gourd of Taste posted:

Do you not know about supervision costs? People pay to be on parole.

Unless you live in a civilised country.

Paying to be on parole is a loving monstrous idea. Is there any country besides the US that forces people to do this?

# ¿ Jun 5, 2013 14:37

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 06:24

Megillah Gorilla: Sep 22, 2003; If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.; Bread Liar

ToxicSlurpee posted:

Isn't part of this the case that literally every other first world nation has completely removed the death penalty? I know it's falling out of favor in the U.S. too but you have also have states that just really, really adore killing people.

Yes I mean Texas.

Also California:

quote:

U.S. appeals court rejects challenge to California death penalty

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday unanimously rejected a constitutional challenge to the death penalty in California, overturning a lower court ruling that had found the system too arbitrary.

A California prisoner, Ernest Jones, had argued that long delays in the judicial process surrounding the death penalty in California made the punishment arbitrary and unconstitutional.

The state of California is now free to start killing people again.

# ¿ Nov 13, 2015 14:27

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