This murdering punk doesn't like the lethal injection protocol? Fine -- let's go for the single-bullet-to-the-base-of-the-skull protocol.

Condemned double-murderer Derrick Juan Sonnier received a reprieve about two hours before he was to walk into Texas' death house Tuesday, the second time he has escaped execution.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution after the Texas Defender Service, a watchdog capital punishment group, filed two last-minute appeals in the 40-year-old man's case.

Sonnier was sentenced to die for the 1991 stabbing deaths of Melody Flowers, 27, and her 2-year-old son Patrick.

Authorities said he had stalked the single mother of five for months before the murders.

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In its appeals, the Texas Defender Service argued that the state made changes May 30 to its lethal injection protocol that have not been reviewed by any court.

Its second appeal argues that the lethal injection protocol violates Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment, an issue raised in two other cases pending before the state court.

I'm sorry -- the "cruel and unusual punishment" argument doesn't was for me. While one can argue that any sentence of death is cruel, it is not unusual under the laws of this country to sentence someone to death for murder. Nor does it somehow shock the conscience that murdering scumbags might feel some fraction of the pain and suffering that their victims experienced -- indeed, most people with any sense of morality would argue that it is not unreasonable for those receiving capital PUNISHMENT to actually experience a some discomfort as a part of their punishment.

Posted by: Greg at 02:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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