Last week we were quite disturbed by reading about an Ohio man who screamed his innocence and physically struggled with guards as he was dragged to the execution chamber where he was injected with lethal drugs and killed. The execution made an impact on the nation, which is undergoing a shift in its attitudes on capital punishment. The Ohio Mansfield News Journal today has this editiorial on the disturbing nature of the execution, offering possible explanations to these questions:

Why are so many people disturbed that a man who was about to enter the death chamber for execution didn't want to die? Why were people surprised and bothered when Lewis Williams Jr. struggled with prison personnel on the way to the room where he was killed by lethal injection?

The editorial notes:

What is more surprising is that more inmates haven't fought back to prevent their execution. People normally don't want to die and try to stop it....It reminded people of just how ugly it is to execute another person. Even those who favor the death penalty prefer to think of it as a quiet, humane event. Calmness somehow makes us feel better about what we are doing.

Some friends and family members of murder victims may enjoy seeing pain and terror on the face of the condemned killer. But we suspect even a good portion of these folks don't want to know the execution got messy. Another factor that probably makes people uncomfortable with the kind of struggle that took place last week is a nagging doubt about the guilt of the person executed. Was he unable to come to grips with his death because he knew he was innocent?

Williams proclaimed his innocence until the end. That certainly doesn't mean he was innocent. But that proclamation and his struggle have probably made some people wonder who wouldn't have been concerned otherwise....Lethal injection was adopted in Ohio and other states to make execution more humane for those being killed. It certainly also helped people feel better about their involvement in what is still an act of violence.

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