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The death penalty in arizona.
Last updated August 1, 2022
Happening now.
Clarence Dixon was the first person executed by lethal injection in Arizona since Joseph Wood in 2014.
His execution was set for Wednesday, May 11th, despite having been previously found as blind, disabled and legally insane.
According to a reporter who witnessed Wood's death, it took him 2 hours and gasped 640 times before he died. It was found afterwards that the lethal injection that Wood received was completely botched, leading to this cruel execution by the state. The doctor who had originally administered the sedation prior to the injection had confirmed that Wood was sedated about four minutes into the procedure. A procedure that was supposed to take a maximum of 10-11 minutes to be completed, resulted in Wood gasping for air at 2:05 p.m., 11 minutes after the drugs had entered his body through IVs (Kiefer, 2014).
His execution was set for Wednesday, May 11th, despite having been previously found as blind, disabled and legally insane.
According to a reporter who witnessed Wood's death, it took him 2 hours and gasped 640 times before he died. It was found afterwards that the lethal injection that Wood received was completely botched, leading to this cruel execution by the state. The doctor who had originally administered the sedation prior to the injection had confirmed that Wood was sedated about four minutes into the procedure. A procedure that was supposed to take a maximum of 10-11 minutes to be completed, resulted in Wood gasping for air at 2:05 p.m., 11 minutes after the drugs had entered his body through IVs (Kiefer, 2014).
"He gulped like a fish on land. The movement was like a piston: The mouth opened, the chest rose, the stomach convulsed. And when the doctor came in to check on his consciousness and turned on the microphone to announce that Wood was still sedated, we could hear the sound he was making: a snoring, sucking, similar to when a swimming-pool filter starts taking in air, a louder noise than I can imitate, though I have tried."
- Reporter Michael Kiefer, witness to Joseph Wood's execution in 2014
Clarence Dixon, 65, was convicted in 2008 for the murder of 21-year old Deana Bowdoin, a senior at Arizona State University who was found dead in her apartment with a belt around her neck in 1978. Dixon was given the choice of being executed by a lethal injection or the gas chamber which the state refurbished just last summer. Originally, he was given more than 20 calendar days to notify officials how he wanted to be executed. He chose execution by lethal injection.
A recent lawsuit filed in February by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix is challenging the use of lethal injections as a mode of execution in Arizona (Jenkins, 2022). The group's lawsuit "seek[s] to prevent the grievous moral and constitutional injury of taxing Arizonans, including victims of the Holocaust, and effectively forcing them to subsidize and relive unnecessarily the same form of cruelty used in World War II atrocities" (Equal Justice Initiative, 2022).
The American Jewish Committee, the country's oldest Jewish advocacy group, said in a statement, "There is something profoundly wrong when a state is so anxious to execute people, who in any event can be incapacitated by incarcerating them forever, that it is prepared to resort to a method of execution that inevitably, inextricably, and forever is linked to the worst outrages of human history."
A recent lawsuit filed in February by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix is challenging the use of lethal injections as a mode of execution in Arizona (Jenkins, 2022). The group's lawsuit "seek[s] to prevent the grievous moral and constitutional injury of taxing Arizonans, including victims of the Holocaust, and effectively forcing them to subsidize and relive unnecessarily the same form of cruelty used in World War II atrocities" (Equal Justice Initiative, 2022).
The American Jewish Committee, the country's oldest Jewish advocacy group, said in a statement, "There is something profoundly wrong when a state is so anxious to execute people, who in any event can be incapacitated by incarcerating them forever, that it is prepared to resort to a method of execution that inevitably, inextricably, and forever is linked to the worst outrages of human history."
Executions by the State of Arizona
- Clarence Dixon, 65, first person executed by lethal injection in Arizona since Joseph Wood in 2014. He was killed on May 11, 2022.
- Frank Atwood, 66, was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, June 8th of this year. He was the second inmate on Death Row in Arizona to have been executed by officials since 2014. Atwood was originally convicted for murdering an 8-year-old girl in 1984.
- Murray Hooper, 76, is expected to be the third execution by the State this year. Hooper is among 3 men that were convicted for a double homicide in 1980. There is no scheduled date yet.
Additional resources and updates relating to Arizona's death penalty:
- CBS News. (2022). Frank Atwood executed in Arizona for 1984 murder of 8-year-old girl. www.cbsnews.com/news/frank-atwood-execution-arizona-murder-vicki-hoskinson/.
- Curtis, C. & Jenkins, J. (2022). Arizona announces intent to execute death row prisoner Murray Hooper. www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-breaking/2022/07/19/mark-brnovich-files-motion-murray-hoopers-execution/10100839002/.
- Jenkins, J. (2022). Arizona Supreme Court issues execution warrant for death row prisoner Clarence Dixon. Arizona Central. www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-breaking/2022/04/05/clarence-dixon-execution-deana-bowden-asu-student-death/9477766002/.
- Jenkins, J. (2022). Jewish Arizonans challenges use of lethal gas executions with lawsuit. Arizona Central. www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/02/16/aclu-lawsuit-challenges-use-lethal-gas-arizona-executions/6806598001/.
- Kiefer, M. (2014). Reporter describes Arizona execution: 2 hours, 640 gasps. Arizona Central. www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/07/24/arizona-execution-joseph-wood-eyewitness/13083637/.
- Equal Justice Initiative. (2022). Arizona plans to execute a blind, disabled man previously found legally insane. https://eji.org/news/clarence-dixon-execution-arizona/.
- Equal Justice Initiative. (2021). Supreme Court considers whether people on death row can present new evidence. eji.org/news/supreme-court-considers-whether-people-on-death-row-can-present-new-evidence/.
- Pilkington, E. (2021). US Supreme Court to hear case that could have dire consequences for death row inmates. The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/08/us-supreme-court-arizona-death-penalty-case.
30 years ago, Arizona voters abolished lethal gas executions. In 2021, Governor Doug Ducey worked with Department of Corrections officials to 'refurbish' the old gas chamber to execute inmates on Death Row.
Where?
Florence State Prison (FSP) in Florence, Arizona.
What does this mean for Arizona and inmates on Death Row?
For starters, this form of execution is significantly more excruciating than any other for inmates on Death Row. Not only have witnesses from past executions commented on how inmates suffered through "agonizing choking and gagging" (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021), but execution by gas can take anywhere from 10-25 minutes. As of right now, Arizona already has two inmates set for execution by gas, however, the exact dates have not been released by officials. These inmates are 65-year old Frank Atwood and 65-year old Clarence Dixon. Officials have also said that 17 other inmates on Death Row are being considered for this form of execution.
Previously, The Guardian reported that the State had ordered more than $2,000 worth of chemicals to be used in lethal gas executions, including potassium cyanide. One of the last executions using potassium cyanide was in 1992, in which a witness recounted that Donald Harding "struggled violently" for over 10 minutes before he died. However, it is vital to note that potassium cyanide is the incorrect chemical used in lethal gas executions, and, in fact, is stated in the Department of Correction's protocols that sodium cyanide must be used.
*The Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Governor Doug Ducey have both refused to comment on the mistake of ordering the wrong chemical.
Florence State Prison (FSP) in Florence, Arizona.
What does this mean for Arizona and inmates on Death Row?
For starters, this form of execution is significantly more excruciating than any other for inmates on Death Row. Not only have witnesses from past executions commented on how inmates suffered through "agonizing choking and gagging" (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021), but execution by gas can take anywhere from 10-25 minutes. As of right now, Arizona already has two inmates set for execution by gas, however, the exact dates have not been released by officials. These inmates are 65-year old Frank Atwood and 65-year old Clarence Dixon. Officials have also said that 17 other inmates on Death Row are being considered for this form of execution.
Previously, The Guardian reported that the State had ordered more than $2,000 worth of chemicals to be used in lethal gas executions, including potassium cyanide. One of the last executions using potassium cyanide was in 1992, in which a witness recounted that Donald Harding "struggled violently" for over 10 minutes before he died. However, it is vital to note that potassium cyanide is the incorrect chemical used in lethal gas executions, and, in fact, is stated in the Department of Correction's protocols that sodium cyanide must be used.
*The Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Governor Doug Ducey have both refused to comment on the mistake of ordering the wrong chemical.
America's cruel & unusual punishment: The Death Penalty.
First mentioned in the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, a "cruel and unusual punishment" was originally interpreted as a prohibition on methods of torture.
The Death Penalty is currently authorized in 27 states, with 23 states that do not authorize it, and just 3 others that have enacted a moratorium on the Death Penalty. More than 15,787 individuals have been executed by the United States government via some method. Over 50% of those executions were by hanging (Wilson, 2017).
While the most common execution method is lethal injection, states that permit the Death Penalty may have several types of methods for Death Row inmates, including the following: burning, electrocution, firing squad, hanging, nitrogen hypoxia, and lethal gas.
Methods and statistics
No matter if individuals are guilty of committing horrendous crimes, why should we choose hate over growth and compassion? The incarceration system should not be about fighting violence with violence. Because if we do that, if the government continues to react with violence, that is all we shall continue to receive in turn. The goals of the incarceration system should be focused on rehabilitating and reintegrating individuals into society, not giving them more reasons to despise us.
The Death Penalty is currently authorized in 27 states, with 23 states that do not authorize it, and just 3 others that have enacted a moratorium on the Death Penalty. More than 15,787 individuals have been executed by the United States government via some method. Over 50% of those executions were by hanging (Wilson, 2017).
While the most common execution method is lethal injection, states that permit the Death Penalty may have several types of methods for Death Row inmates, including the following: burning, electrocution, firing squad, hanging, nitrogen hypoxia, and lethal gas.
Methods and statistics
- Burning
- 65 people have been executed by this method
- Electrocution
- 8 states permit
- 4,439 people have been executed by this method
- Firing squad
- 4 states permit
- 130 people have been executed by this method
- Hanging
- 3 states permit
- 9,183 people have been executed by this method
- Nitrogen hypoxia
- No data at this time
- Lethal injection
- 27 states permit , with an additional 4 that have since prohibited the Death Penalty (31 states in total)
- 1,275 people have been executed by this method
- Lethal gas
- 7 states permit
- 593 people have been executed by this method
- Other
- 102 people have been executed in some other fashion
No matter if individuals are guilty of committing horrendous crimes, why should we choose hate over growth and compassion? The incarceration system should not be about fighting violence with violence. Because if we do that, if the government continues to react with violence, that is all we shall continue to receive in turn. The goals of the incarceration system should be focused on rehabilitating and reintegrating individuals into society, not giving them more reasons to despise us.
Additional resources and updates relating to Arizona's death penalty:
- Death Penalty Information Center. (2022). Executions overview. deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/executions-overview.
- Elfer, H., Place, N. (2021). America’s death map: Which US states still have capital punishment, and who uses it the most? Independent. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/death-penalty-us-states-map-b1932960.html.
- Wilson, C. (2017). Every execution in U.S. history in a single chart. Time. https://time.com/82375/every-execution-in-u-s-history-in-a-single-chart/.
The gas chambers were a "Nazi innovation, and it was positively inhumane. To think our 'civilized society' today in the state of Arizona would utilize this Nazi innovation, I believe, is tantamount to giving posthumous approval to the evils conducted by the Nazis. We're basically saying what the Nazis did was OK."
- Janice Friebaum, Vice President of the Phoenix Holocaust Association (NBC News, 2021)
History of gas executions & influence of anti-Semitism.
The gas that state officials will be using is composed of hydrogen cyanide, most commonly referred to as Zyklon B. Approximately 6,000 Jews were killed, on average, each day in Auschwitz between 1943 and 1944, and over 1 million people throughout the whole Holocaust.
Austria Ambassador Martin Weiss stated in a Tweet, “[the death penalty] itself is a cruel and unusual punishment. Getting ready to use Zyklon B for executions is just beyond the pale.” (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021)
Robert Dunham, executive director of the non-profit organization Death Penalty Information Center, also greatly opposes this new action by the State, asking, "Didn't anybody in the Arizona Department of Corrections study the Holocaust, and if so, why didn't they object"? (The Patch, 2021)
Speaking of the Holocaust, let's talk about anti-Semitism. What is it? Anti-Semitism is defined as prejudicial attitudes or hatred against Jewish people.
Most people know of anti-Semitism because of the infamous Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler. And, although anti-Semitism dates all the way back to the Middle Ages, as Nazi Germany rose, so did anti-Semitic beliefs and behaviors.
Jewish people from all professions were stripped of their livelihood, simply because Hitler pushed the belief that Jews were responsible for the country's economic and social turmoil after World War 1. In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws introduced numerous anti-Semitic policies and even created an outline of who, in Germany, had Jewish ancestry. These harsh laws and propaganda by Nazi Germany swayed the public into believing that Jewish people were an entirely different race from German citizens.
In 1938, Kristallnacht happened between November 9th and 10th, which has also been called "the night of broken glass". In just two days, over 250 synagogues were burned and 7,000 Jewish businesses were looted in Reich. The morning after, the Nazis arrested over 30,000 Jewish men and took them to be held in concentration camps (History.com, 2018)
After Kristallnacht, government policies became much more violent and aggressive, directly targeting Jewish people across Germany and surrounding nations. The Nazis then used gas chambers as a mode of mass killing centers in their concentration camps, including the most notorious, Auschwitz. These were to act as apart of the "Final Solution" to the "Jewish problem".
... So, if you didn't understand before, maybe you can now. Resuming lethal gas executions in Arizona, even for Death Row inmates, is completely insensitive to Jewish people and those that were executed during the Holocaust, in addition to it being completely inhumane.
Austria Ambassador Martin Weiss stated in a Tweet, “[the death penalty] itself is a cruel and unusual punishment. Getting ready to use Zyklon B for executions is just beyond the pale.” (Equal Justice Initiative, 2021)
Robert Dunham, executive director of the non-profit organization Death Penalty Information Center, also greatly opposes this new action by the State, asking, "Didn't anybody in the Arizona Department of Corrections study the Holocaust, and if so, why didn't they object"? (The Patch, 2021)
Speaking of the Holocaust, let's talk about anti-Semitism. What is it? Anti-Semitism is defined as prejudicial attitudes or hatred against Jewish people.
Most people know of anti-Semitism because of the infamous Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler. And, although anti-Semitism dates all the way back to the Middle Ages, as Nazi Germany rose, so did anti-Semitic beliefs and behaviors.
Jewish people from all professions were stripped of their livelihood, simply because Hitler pushed the belief that Jews were responsible for the country's economic and social turmoil after World War 1. In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws introduced numerous anti-Semitic policies and even created an outline of who, in Germany, had Jewish ancestry. These harsh laws and propaganda by Nazi Germany swayed the public into believing that Jewish people were an entirely different race from German citizens.
In 1938, Kristallnacht happened between November 9th and 10th, which has also been called "the night of broken glass". In just two days, over 250 synagogues were burned and 7,000 Jewish businesses were looted in Reich. The morning after, the Nazis arrested over 30,000 Jewish men and took them to be held in concentration camps (History.com, 2018)
After Kristallnacht, government policies became much more violent and aggressive, directly targeting Jewish people across Germany and surrounding nations. The Nazis then used gas chambers as a mode of mass killing centers in their concentration camps, including the most notorious, Auschwitz. These were to act as apart of the "Final Solution" to the "Jewish problem".
... So, if you didn't understand before, maybe you can now. Resuming lethal gas executions in Arizona, even for Death Row inmates, is completely insensitive to Jewish people and those that were executed during the Holocaust, in addition to it being completely inhumane.
Alternative Resources to View
Equal Justice Initiative: eji.org/news/arizona-plans-executions-with-gas-used-by-nazis-at-auschwitz/
History.com: www.history.com/topics/holocaust/anti-semitism#section_3
NBC News: www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jewish-groups-condemn-arizona-s-potential-use-gas-executions-n1270585
Patch: patch.com/arizona/phoenix/arizona-plans-use-gas-chamber-again-sparking-revulsion-disbelief
PBS News Hour: www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/arizona-refurbishes-gas-chamber-in-push-to-resume-executions
The Guardian: amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/28/arizona-gas-chamber-executions-documents
History.com: www.history.com/topics/holocaust/anti-semitism#section_3
NBC News: www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jewish-groups-condemn-arizona-s-potential-use-gas-executions-n1270585
Patch: patch.com/arizona/phoenix/arizona-plans-use-gas-chamber-again-sparking-revulsion-disbelief
PBS News Hour: www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/arizona-refurbishes-gas-chamber-in-push-to-resume-executions
The Guardian: amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/28/arizona-gas-chamber-executions-documents