Why when they announce a State Execution they say Inmate was given a injection with a sterile syringe?

One more absurdity about the system. The cost of the death penalty has very little to do with the actual execution. Some of the answers you got have mistakes. Here are answers, with sources listed below, to questions often asked about the death penalty.

Isn't the death penalty cheaper than keeping criminals in prison?

The death penalty costs much more than life in prison. The huge extra costs mount up even before the trial. They are due to the complicated nature of both the pre trial investigation and of the trials (involving 2 separate stages, mandated by the Supreme Court) in death penalty cases.

What about the risk of executing innocent people?

Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence, many having already served over 2 decades on death row.

Doesn't DNA keep new cases like these from happening?

DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides. It is not a guarantee against the execution of innocent people.

Doesn't the death penalty prevent others from committing murder?

No reputable study shows the death penalty to be a deterrent. Homicide rates are higher in states that have it than in states that do not. Most killers don't think about the consequences anyway. They do not think they will be caught (if they think at all.)

So, what are the alternatives?

Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. Supermax prisons are terrible places to spend the rest of your life. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.

What about the very worst crimes?

The death penalty isn’t reserved for the “worst of the worst,” but rather for defendants with the worst lawyers. When is the last time a wealthy person was sentenced to death, let alone executed??

Doesn't the death penalty help families of murder victims?

Not necessarily. Murder victim family members across the country argue that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.

So, why don't we speed up the process?

Many of the 123 innocent people released from death row had already been there for over 2 decades. If the process is speeded up we are sure to execute an innocent person.

But don’t Americans prefer the death penalty as the most serious punishment?

Not any more. People are rethinking their views, given the facts and the records on innocent people sentenced to death. According to a Gallup Poll, in 2006, 47% of all Americans prefer capital punishment while 48% prefer life without parole.

Many people have supported the death penalty because they have not yet found out about the practical problems with it. But we are learning.

They believe that such pleasentries will give a small amount of dignity and respect to the act of taking someones life. In the end it is said that it is due to the fact that a decision could come at any time to stop the execution, so there is no point in doing any more harm than necessary. I beleave it is just so it is slightly more humanistic, if that's possible.

I hate capital punishment. While I detest criminals of any kind and sometimes say, "I'd wish he'd die," when the news comes on saying so-and-so was just executed, a part of ME dies.

I guess I just don't believe in an eye for an eye. So, it doesn't matter what the technique. I understand you were trying to make a sarcastically funny statement. I think any form is a bizarre way of going about criminal justice and maintaining our humanity.

i don't bear in mind ever having alcohol swab while having an injection yet admittedly i don't have them oftentimes i'm particular they do nevertheless. i don't understand why kamikaze pilots placed on helmets and individuals on indexed decrease than are continuously reporting the solid question and not the troll ones. probably because of the fact they themselves have not have been given the brains to ask solid ones themselves so motel to getting each and all of the solid ones bumped off.

They are a bunch of idiots, it doesn't make any difference at all, the person is dead before any infection can set in.

Not really. But I still don't understand why they phased out the gas chamber -quick, painless, and cheap.

no, it doesn't make a difference, but you never know what group of wackos like the ACLU will make a fuss if they use a dirty needle that could theoretically give him AIDS if he did live which he won't anyway.

Wouldn't want to be liable for a Dead Guy, being infected......It's a sad commentary on our country ( Sigh )

Yes, it matters. It would be cruel to use a dirty needle. We are still talking about a person and you wouldn't want the executioner to be exposed to germs either.

So the ACLU will not try and sue them for dirty needles.