The scene that I have chosen to discuss is the execution of Matthew Poncelet from the movie Dead Man Walking. This scene is the most important one of the movie because it is what the whole movie leads up to. The beginning of the scene shows the clock in the execution chamber at the time of 11:55 PM. It is only five minutes before the scheduled death of Matt. Then we see close up of the buckles that will hold Matt's body on the gurney and the strap-down team buckle him in. There is no music, so the clicking of the buckles seems very loud to the audience. The nurse comes into the room to start I.V. that will administer the lethal combinations of drugs that will end Matt's Life. She ironically cleans the injection site with an alcohol swab before inserting the needle, as if the prevent Matt from getting an infection. The next camera shot that we see is of the witnesses that will see Matt die. The victim's parents are there, Sister Helen, and the lawyer are there, all dressed in business suits and dresses. Then the curtain opens, and Matt appears strapped to the gurney in a Christ-like position. Matt is shaking as he gives his last words through the glass to the witnesses. After he gives his speech, he and Helen share a tender last look and say I love you to one another. The gurney is lowered so that the injection can begin. Tim Robbins reminds us with a violent flashback of the murders that Matt and his partner committed of why Matt is being executed. Creepy and foreboding music starts as the first phase of the injection starts. The camera shows close-ups of the victims" families and Matt's face. The shots keep going bask and forth between the drugs entering Matt's body the witnesses and the crime that he has committed. The word "finish" on the injection machine as the ending of the process. Helen has been praying with her eyes closed, as Matt's eyes pop open when he is dead, Helen's eyes open too.
The Romans used to punish those who committed a vile crime with death. The case of Furman vs. Georgia (in 1972) reached the Supreme Court, and decided that punishment of death violates the eighth amendment saying that "excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted." Because of ...
Opponets vs. ... Then time gradually revolved to the electric chair although death by firing squad was still widely used. ... At that time a new device was introduced, the electric chair. The opponents fought to get the death penalty more humane, they felt the "chair" was inhumane and cruel. ... Finally after much consideration among states most stopped using the gas chamber and followed with lethal injection. ...
One such method is the electric chair. ... Another method of execution that is cruel is lethal injection. It is used in 34 states and since 1976, 406 prisoners have been executed by way of lethal injection (Bobit 2). ... 68% 32% Is the electric chair itself cruel and unusual punishment? ... Most people also felt that the electric chair is a cruel and unusual method of execution. ...
For instance, the case of Stanford vs. ... Today, there are five methods of execution accepted in the United States, they are: Electrocution, Hanging, Lethal Injection, Firing Squad and the Gas Chamber (Methods of Execution, 1999). ... (See Appendix 1 at end) The use of lethal injection is the most widely used form of capital punishment because it is fast and humane (Methods of Execution, 1999). ... The use of the Electric chair is the most widely known method of the capital punishment (Methods of Execution, 1999). ... For execution by the electric chair, the person's head is shaved ...
The methods nowadays are certainly different (Mostly lethal injection, Electric chair) but the objective and goal has remained the same. ... However, a Supreme Court decision in 1975, Gregg vs. ... Many states believe it is ok to execute someone since they have upgraded form the traditional electric chair to the more modern lethal injection. ...
Death Penalty Many Americans are astonished by the U.S.'s high murder rates and lack of abolition of the death penalty when in comparison with other countries. The U.S. is very far behind when it comes to abolishing the death penalty. Capital punishment caught my attention because I always see...
(Tabak54) Throughout the years of the death penalty there has been several forms of execution including: hanging, facing a firing squad, lethal injection, electrocution, and the gas chamber, but in recent years only two types of execution have been used, lethal injection and the electric chair. ... The most interesting of all of these cases was "Furman vs. ... The most famous of all of the Supreme Court cases that ruled in favor of the death penalty was Gregg vs. ... (Ivers441) He was eventually received the death penalty, which his lawyers believed was in violation of Furman vs. ... (Ivers...
In a 1990 Florida execution, a malfunctioning electric chair caused flames to shoot up six inches into the air from the condemned persons head. In 1992, in an Oklahoma execution by lethal injection, the condemned had a violent reaction to the drugs used. ... McClesky (Case Law: McCleskey vs. ...
Then in 1924 executions fell under the jurisdiction of the state, and in that same year, Texas switched from the rope to the electric chair to appease concerns that prisoners were being treated inhumanely. ... Apprehensions concerning the unfair application of the death penalty were addressed in a landmark decision in 1972, Furman vs. ... It proposed legislation instituting the use of lethal injection, but more importantly passed House Bill 200, which clearly defined the six homicides eligible for capital punishment: murder of a peace officer or fireman; murder during the course of kidnapping...