As a former corrections official, I can see how controversial decisions are made. No person, nor state for that matter, wants to tread into unknown territory first. I believe that is how the questionable procedure of lethal injection came about.

Many of us in corrections believed that lethal injection was rather barbaric compared to other proven methods of excecution such as the gallows, firing squad and electric chair; all of which are swift and less painful when performed properly. Why these proven methods were abandoned is beyond me.

It is unfortunate that lethal injection which was created to give the image of a quiet peaceful and humane death may be the cause for abandoning capital punishment altogether, which in turn will cheapen capital crimes to the level of non-capital violent crimes. Imagine a criminal who was convicted of the non-capital crime of assault and battery with intent to kill, serving the same sentence as a double murderer. In the end, all criminal behavior is reduced to nothing more than deviant behavior.