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Why David Lat's Essay Executions Should Be Televised

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KILL THEM. And Let Us Watch. In the essay “Executions Should Be Televised” Zachary Shemtob and David Lat argue that executions should be made public. They claim that while most executions are made to be painless, some may cause “unnecessary suffering”. This essay invokes a strong appeal to ethos, pathos, and logos leading the reader to really think about whether or not public executions are acceptable. Which they should be(actually, I am on the fence). Firstly, let us go over what exactly happens during a lethal injection. A lethal injection is the practice of injecting a fatal dose of drugs into a person. Lethal injection mixes three drugs: Sodium Thiopental, Pavulon, and Potassium Chloride. Sodium Thiopental is injected first. This drug is a barbiturate used to render the prisoner unconscious. Pavulon is the next drug administered, a muscle …show more content…

Since doctors aren’t present due to the hippocratic oath, prison staff carry out the execution and administration of anesthetics can be risky to say the least. The possibility that the first drug, sodium thiopental, being administered improperly is very real. Then, because of the second drug, the prison officers and witnesses would be unaware that not only is the prisoner conscious, but being tortured horribly. Feeling the effects of both the second and third drugs simultaneously. lastly, the potassium chloride creates extreme burning throughout the body. The prisoner can not scream, speak, or move as it takes effects, prisoner would be able to feel everything until the body succumbs, and the heart finally stops. The authors of the essay explain the way Georgia inmate, Roy Blankeship “gasped, grimaced, lurched, and jerked his head” when the injection was administered. This is evidence enough to support that execution can be painful. That might lead one to question whether executions are ethical or

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