"they don't catch fire usually."

This post is meant to be neither an argument for nor against the death penalty. It is merely an observation.

After reading about Arizona's 2 hour struggle to execute an inmate recently, I decided to do a google search on the question "why is it so hard to execute an inmate?" It seems to me that the particulars of killing another human being would be fairly easy. Life is fragile, right? Apparently not.

Anyway, I found the following post at http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5768643:

I've served as a witness to a few executions. Yes, really, some states do allow for citizen witnesses. Lethal injection is typically a very quick and efficient way to execute an inmate. Well, it was, until the pharmaceutical companies were pressured to stop providing their medicines if they were to be used for executions. Now states are having to scramble and experiment with whatever drugs they may be able to procure. I don't like this as they are going out on a limb to find mixtures that are lethal to the inmate while not being tortuous. Electrocution works effectively on inmates. It isn't as dramatic as portrayed in the movies. The inmate is hit with that voltage and BAM they are brain dead. They don't catch fire usually - just a bit of water vapor from the leg electrode...

Read more: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5768643#ixzz39FiYpcvc

I thought the explanation of the difficulties with lethal injection were interesting, but then his explanation of electrocution really blew me away -- "they don't catch fire usually."