Execution of Execution Botched?

Sadly, we have reached the end of another exciting week of posts from The View from the Front Seat, which puts me in a bit of a bad mood to begin with. So, you may find this post a little heavier than the usual light-hearted (some may say "silly," but we don't need to talk about them) look at what's going on in the world. I was checking up on what was going on in the world around me today and I found a story from the Associated Press about Florida and California halting executions after Florida "botched" a lethal injection.

I have to admit I found the logic and commentary around this greatly ironic. Florida was applying a lethal injection to inmate Angel Nieves Diaz, who murdered the manager of a Miami topless bar in 1979. Instead of the usual 15 minutes, it took 34 minutes for the execution to be completed because the needle was accidentally pushed entirely through the vein instead of just inside of it. Governor Jeb Bush suspended future executions "to ensure the process does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment." Diaz's attorney added her thoughts to the situation as well, indicating that it "shows a complete disregard for Mr. Diaz."

Perhaps I'm going crazy here, but aren't folks missing the bigger picture? Firstly, I'm thinking Mr. Diaz showed a bit of disregard for the gentleman he murdered in 1979. Secondly, despite that disregard Florida paid Mr. Diaz the courtesy of keeping him alive for approximately 27 years after he disregarded his victim. Thirdly, to address Jeb's concern about cruel and unusual punishment ..... um .... wouldn't the execution itself kinda constitute some cruel punishment? Dude, you're killing a guy ... I consider that pretty serious punishment. I don't get how the additional 15 minutes and a little more discomfort suddenly makes the situation cross the line into cruel and unusual punishment. And lastly, don't they still let people watch this happen? Where does that fall on the scale of "disregard" for people or "cruel and unusual punishment?"

Big picture people ..... we're arguing about this because of a few extra minutes and some additional discomfort .... when we've already decided to do some pretty serious things to a guy who showed some pretty hateful disregard for someone himself. When compared to the original murder, the decision to execute the criminal and propping him up in front of people to watch it all .... I'm thinking the part people are calling "botched" is like focusing on the 5 feet of grass in your backyard that burned after someone burned your house down.

Am I crazy?

That's it for today, so until next time, keep your eyes on the road ... you don't want to "botch" your vehicle.