Romell Broom, 52, was given a rare one-week reprieve when officials struggled for hours to find a vein strong enough to handle lethal injection. The scene was particularly grotesque for critics of the death penalty as Broom awaited his death for hours as he was pricked and probed. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland eventually ordered the one-week delay to allow prison officials time to figure out the best vein to use to execute him.
Broom was convicted of raping and fatally stabbing a 14-year-old girl in East Cleveland, Ohio, in 1984. Broom reportedly tried to help the prison staff find a vein in his own execution.
The defense moved quickly when Broom’s lawyer in prison, Adele Shank (a particularly apt name for a prisoner lawyer), notified co-counsel Tim Sweeney that they could not find a vein at the Lucasville facility. They did an excellent job in moving to seek a termination of the procedure.
For some, this brings up memories of problems in May 2006 when Ohio officials took 90 minutes to find a vein in the execution of Joseph Clark, who was heard pleading with the officials “It don’t work.”
Then in 2007, officials in Ohio took two hours to find a vein for Christopher Newton’s execution.
These botched executions are often cited as magnifying the cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. However, courts have rejected such claims in the past and find that the state cannot anticipate every eventuality. Yet, Ohio’s persistent difficulties raise some question as to whether the state is less competent in executions or whether other states are less careful. The possibility of a vein not functioning fully can cause a horrific outcome where the inmate is not fully sedated and not given sufficient lethal doses to ensure rapid death.
I have previously written about the problem associated with lethal injection, here.
For the full story, click here.
Well said Buddha, evil men who commit murder for pleasure need to be “put to death’. I think the term liquidate, is a little to much for your sensibilities……
George, maybe you should open up a Level Four Board and Care Home and become a Licensed Administrator. You can be an advocate for the sexual predator and deviant. They can move into your home that is licensed, maybe with your wife and children. They aren’t all that frightening, you can medicate them and hope they don’t turn into the time-bomb, that we all know they are. Once they go-off, KABOOM!
If we don’t turn ourselves into a syrupy grey ooze, eventually there will be a vaccine for the genetic component of psycho-/sociopathy. But you cannot totally remove in killer inside us. Such a step is not possible. There is also the fact that psychosis can be induced through trauma, illness and toxic exposures. No vaccine will help that. And sociopathic behavior? That can be a choice. It’s called evil. But rest assured, as long as there are men, there will be killers.
Also, all those diagnosed with psychopathy do not become “predators”, those that do, should be liquidated….
George, would you want your wife or sister to be victimized by the likes of Dahmer or Gacy, all in the name of science? I said they should be “studied”, then liquidated. They should be liquidated due to the outragoeus crimes they perpetrate. A serial killer should be put to death as a “punishment”. Those who are diagnosed with sociopathy and only pilfer a case or two of beer, are OK in my book… I think you have missed the fundamental point I was trying to illustrate. Due to there potential for violence and savagery, they need to be destroyed that others may live and flourish. Also, I make the distinction between sociopathy and psychopathy, as it relates to “human predators”, i.e. Bundy Dahmer, gacy et al…
Billy, you say…”I believe they should be studied, interviewed then liquidated. They are predators by nature and “extremely” dangerous to the population, in or out of prison.”
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Liquidated?
Psychopathy is generally understood to be a psychological condition in which individuals engage in chronic immoral and antisocial behavior.
The term fact that you so casually use the term “liquidate” in the same sentence as other human beings (reminds me a little bit too much of language the Third Reich might have used, by the way) and your conclusion that, “Death is a “punishment” for committing first degree murder. It is fair and just,” leads me to question your understanding of the issue at hand.
PS. Would you suggest we develop a DNA test for psychopathy? Since psychopaths are born that way, we could just test them and liquidate them right there in the delivery room…think of the tax dollars it would save!
Sociopathy usually manifests in little boys between the ages of 3-4, in little girls at about the onset of puberty. This personality disorder is usually more prevalent in males on about a 3-1 ratio. In little boys the disorder is frequently manifested when the child tortures insects and animals of lower form, then it progresses into the torture or mutilation of animals of higher form with a more complex nervous system, i.e. cats dogs etc. Frequently the perpetrator of these acts also is involved in victimizing smaller children, as well committing acts of pyromania and theft. In adolescent girls, they usually skip school, start smoking, have frequent sexual partners and unwanted preganancies, coupled with theft and property destruction. Prior to the age of 18, this personality disorder is not called antisocial personality disorder, but rather “conduct disorder” or “childhood conduct disorder”. Extreme poverty, lack of a strong maternal attachment and being rescued by adults when “caught” performing destructive disordered acts, can be contributing factors in the formation or genesis of this disorder in a small child.
Also, because they have commited the crimes, such as the one committed by Mr. Broome, it is fitting they should die. Death is a “punishment” for committing first degree murder. It is fair and just. The death penalty is “extreme justice” meted out to those who committ an “extreme crime”…
Rehabilitation for people diagnosed with sociopathy is very, very difficult, some might say impossible. Most people with sociopathy “cool off” over a period of years and find ways to adapt and become assimilated into the fabric of our society. The more dramatic displays of this disorder could be deemed as psychopathy, and these individuals frequently never “cool off”. They continue to run amok, until they are apprehended and brought into incarceration. Dahmer, Bundy, Gacy are some of the most dramatic and obvious examples of this disorder. I believe they should be studied, interviewed then liquidated. They are predators by nature and “extremely” dangerous to the population, in or out of prison. All of these serial killers are serial killers, because they have a “sexual trigger” which compels them to commit the crimes they do. A “hit man” for example, is not a serial killer, yet still a psychopath. Since a sexual trigger is not motivating the act, they are merely mass murderers, albeit “psychopaths” as well. I believe the death penalty is a fitting punishment for these individuals, who are beyond the pale of rehabilitation.
Most of the felons in the state correctional facilities in our country are undoubtedly sociopaths. They seldom if ever come in voluntarily for any type of treatment until they run afoul of the law and are forced into some type of compulsory treatment or modality of therapy, to diagnose and understand the etiology of there criminal behavior.
Dr. Hare is probably this hemispheres leading authority on Sociopathy and Psychopathy. I would refer anyone interested in studying this “personality disorder” in greater detail, to refer to Dr. Hares treatise on this matter. The book is entitled, ‘Without Conscience, the Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us’
Slickone, always remember sociopathe are made, but psychopaths are born……..
I feel bad for the mother as well. I just wouldn’t spend to much time agonizing over her plight….
Billy,
She has the right to grieve. His death at the hands of a fellow sociopath in prison, is “justice” for the likes of him. I’m sorry Leah, I can’t get too broken up over the Dahmer family struggling to cope with the loss of “little Jeffrey”. How do the families of the victims get on with there lives as they grieve and try to move on from so deleterious an experience at the hands of one of the most brutal serial killers of the past century?
The system will take care of its own. That is enough said by me. I do feel bad for the mother. I presume that she did not set out to raise a serial child killer. But that is what happened. The families will never know the gruesome details of his mutilations of their children. As well as they should be spared the details. But at least for some of these families relief was given.
Mrs. Dahmer can grieve. Her grief party will only have a small circle of supporters and sympathizers, primarily made up of a few family members. The fact that Dahmer is now dead allows the victims families to get on with there lives, just knowing he is not breathing gives them peace of mind…….
She has the right to grieve. His death at the hands of a fellow sociopath in prison, is “justice” for the likes of him. I’m sorry Leah, I can’t get too broken up over the Dahmer family struggling to cope with the loss of “little Jeffrey”. How do the families of the victims get on with there lives as they grieve and try to move on from so deleterious an experience at the hands of one of the most brutal serial killers of the past century?
Sadly, the families of the people who commit these terrible crimes suffer, I think, nearly as much as do the families of the victims. Jeffrey Dahmer has been mentioned here. I recall seeing his mother interviewed on television after he was murdered in prison, and what she said just about broke my heart. It was (paraphrased) “I know he did terrible things, but he was my son, and I loved him, and I don’t feel like I even have the right to grieve.”
The death penalty is a deterrent. Once the perpetrator is executed, he is deterred from ever killing again! Think McFly!
Or send him to Wisconsin and maybe he’ll have the same fate as Dalhmer. Mop Handle Broom Handle either would do the trick.
State sanctioned murder. Lovely. Give the man life in prison and be done with it.