Singapore may introduce lethal injection
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Singapore to review methods
By Alan Shadrake and Michael Davis
19nov05
AUSTRALIAN drug-smuggler Nguyen Tuong Van is likely to be one of the last people to face the hangman in Singapore after a review of execution methods by prison officials.
At 73, Singapore's chief hangman, Darshan Singh, has told prison officials he wants to retire, but a search for a replacement has been unsuccessful.
The Weekend Australian has learnt that officials have been studying other methods of execution and are leaning towards the lethal injection technique used in 37 of the 38 US states that practice capital punishment.
Lex Lasry, QC, and Julian McMahon left Melbourne for Singapore last night, still unsure whether their client, waiting on death row in the infamous Changi prison, was even aware that he would be hanged at dawn on December 2.
Van's distraught mother, Kim, who learned of the execution date in a cursory registered letter from the prison's superintendent on Thursday, remained in Melbourne.
Comforted by her brother, she continues to pray at the tiny altar inside the housing commission home in the city's east where she raised her twin sons after arriving in Australia as a boatperson more than 20 years ago.
She will get to see her son again only in the three days leading up to the execution, and was told in the letter that if she could not make funeral arrangements, prison officials would arrange for his cremation.
"It's no point her going over until we can organise for her to visit her son in the prison," Mr McMahon said.
Mr Lasry said: "As long as he is alive we will continue the campaign.
"At some point, the Singapore Government must realise as a First World country it can no longer continue to impose mandatory death sentences."
The review of execution methods was also prompted by technical glitches in a new execution chamber installed in Changi prison during renovations last year.
A mechanical lever that used to operate the trapdoor has been replaced with a semi-automated electric switch.
Mr Singh, a veteran of more than 850 hangings, is understood to be unhappy with the new machinery, which is prone to malfunction.
A colleague of Mr Singh, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Australian last month that after more than 40 years, the hangman wanted to retire.
But one of two candidates picked to replace him froze and was unable to complete his first execution. A second left the prison service.
The lethal injection method being considered by Singapore officials as an alternative is modelled on the procedure introduced in 1977 in Oklahoma.
The prisoner is strapped to a gurney and an intravenous tube is inserted into each arm with a flow of harmless saline solution. At the warden's signal, 5g of sodium pentothal is administered, which renders the prisoner unconscious.
It is followed by pancuronium bromide, a muscle relaxant that paralyses the diaphragm and lungs, and finally potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest.
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17293279%255E421,00.html -
All forms of public execution are cruel. No such thing as humane execution in this world.
But the worse is when an execution goes wrong and the pain it can bring the dying man and the horror to those around watching his execution.
Go online or to library and check up articles or books on public executions gone wrong and see what I mean. -
Indonesia is by shooting squad, guess how many australians are on death row currently in bali.
I lost count, think its 10, coz one got acquited and coming home in 2 weeks time. -
I don't see how it solves the problem of the retiring hangman. All it does is introduce a whole new set of problems.
After all, which medic is going to shoot the infusion line into the criminal's arm now, knowing that the chemicals which go into it will kill the crook? -
I no longer want to know. I cannot sleep at night, knowing that undeserving people are being sent to their deaths by an unfeeling society and its unfeeling government.
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They will blindfold the crook to be executed, just need a guy to stick a needle in, link the fluid lines to some random switches link to the light switches in the building. A combo logic will trigger the flow, if after 3 tries the logic is not met, the system will trigger the event regardless of human intervention.
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Why don't we hire the mujahideens to saw off heads, they love sawing heads. $300 per head on video. That sure beats terrorism and risk of being shot by marines.
And it will surely deter those who want to commit crimes. -
Tasteless.Originally posted by Salman:Why don't we hire the mujahideens to saw off heads, they love sawing heads. $300 per head on video. That sure beats terrorism and risk of being shot by marines.
And it will surely deter those who want to commit crimes.
Lethal injection simply pushes aside the debate over whether 1. The death penalty should remain as an mandatory penalty in many statutes, and 2. the elimination of the death penalty in the long run.
This is not a war.Criminals need to be rehabilitated and be made useful again either in society or in maximum security lockup.Again we come back to the point that no criminal justice system makes perfect and infallible judgements.Therefore, we cannot afford a single accidental execution. -
don't abolish the death penalty itself. but abolish it's mandatory-ness.
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Originally posted by ditzy:
So... are you going to be the one to stick the needle into the guy?
They will blindfold the crook to be executed, just need a guy to stick a needle in, link the fluid lines to some random switches link to the light switches in the building. A combo logic will trigger the flow, if after 3 tries the logic is not met, the system will trigger the event regardless of human intervention.
Like I said... which medic is going to shoot the infusion line? -
you mean that model chick who pretended to be an Islam convert to try to get off right ? ...Originally posted by ditzy:Indonesia is by shooting squad, guess how many australians are on death row currently in bali. I lost count, think its 10, coz one got acquited and coming home in 2 weeks time.
she was only facing 20 years for taking pills i think .... but that's just aussie media hype i guess ...
she got 3 months and will be going home in a few days .....
she was wrapped up like a taliban woman before .... now that she knows she's getting off lightly .... she's didn't even bother covering her head no more ....
tsk tsk tsk ..... -
Good point.Originally posted by fudgester:So... are you going to be the one to stick the needle into the guy?
Like I said... which medic is going to shoot the infusion line? -
Nobody wants to hang people, so introduce lethal injection. But nobody dares to inject the poison. According to the first post, it is being used in US. How about asking the American doctors to come here to do the job?
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the scariest must be electric chair.
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I remember there was an article this year that the CJ commented on this point.Originally posted by HENG@:don't abolish the death penalty itself. but abolish it's mandatory-ness.
He kinda resent the fact they are forced to do it by the law, rather than dish it out to only people who deserves it. -
i agree.Originally posted by HENG@:don't abolish the death penalty itself. but abolish it's mandatory-ness. -
All this talk about the abolishment of capital punishment or whether it's mandatory... deterrence has worked. Nobody seems to say anything about imprisonment and even condone it over capital punishment, clearly the idea of being killed, hanged or injected with lethal chemicals, has had bearing on the way we behave.
I still think torture is a better deterrence, while they're at it, make it public. -
How about being hanged, drawn and quartered?Originally posted by dragg:the scariest must be electric chair. -
i saw it on faces of death.
nothing beats the electric chair. -
Electric chair and gas chamber are the worst
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lethal injection is definitely much more humane than any other kinds of execution. Imagine if u are the one to be executed, u will definitely feel less fear to know than u will be injected to knock u unconcious first, before the execution is carried out painlessly.Originally posted by pat33:All forms of public execution are cruel. No such thing as humane execution in this world.
But the worse is when an execution goes wrong and the pain it can bring the dying man and the horror to those around watching his execution.
Go online or to library and check up articles or books on public executions gone wrong and see what I mean.
for all other types of execution methods, u will basically be living in total fear and suffering severe mental stress for months and weeks before ur last day, not to mention the pain u have to go through for the execution itself. -
hahah ya... the electric chiar and gas camber is the worst one... but i still think the injection method better kla... lesser suffering...
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x2Originally posted by Cpt.ZR:hahah ya... the electric chiar and gas camber is the worst one... but i still think the injection method better kla... lesser suffering... -
Yikes, the thing about these 2 is that the prisoner is still conscious for a short moment.Originally posted by sbst275:Electric chair and gas chamber are the worst
Amazing how inventive humans are when it comes to devising methods on how to kill a fellow human being.
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i guess u will support stoning as an execution method then, u might even be able to take part!Originally posted by ch33k:I still think torture is a better deterrence, while they're at it, make it public.
have some sympathy lah, some of the people who commited the severe crime might be forced to do it out of desperation and have no choice, and some others could be wrongly convicted and dun deserve such a painful death.