Badpuppy Gay Today

Thursday, 27 March, 1997

Seated in the electric chair at Starke, Florida, the execution of Pedro Medina, 39, a man whose guilt had not been proved even to the victim's sister, has become the symbol of a new round in the capital punishment debate. As powerful streams of electricity engulfed him, Medina's face, covered by a mask, burst into flame, a fire that lasted up to 10 seconds. The odor of burning flesh struck the nostrils of the execution's witnesses who were exiting the premises, quickly.

It was the second time that Florida's electric chair-- "Old Sparky"--had burned a condemned man's head. On the first occasion, in 1990, a hue and cry over the national Constitution's amendment forbidding cruel and unusual punishment rippled across the land, but then subsided. On this occasion mental states on both sides of the debate became clear expressions of pro-revenge and anti-revenge arguments.

Florida's Attorney General Bob Butterworth called the occurrence "a deterrent to crime." He taunted the outraged minority opposing capital punishment and the malfunctioning of the Florida chair. "People who wish to commit murder, they better not do it in the state of Florida because we may have a problem with our electric chair." Florida's Governor Lawton Childs was quoted as saying that in his opinion, the executed man had "felt no pain." The governor admitted that Florida's chair had suffered such a malfuntion previously, "We've had an occasion of smoke before. But the question is really, 'Is this something that is tortuous or painful?' " Witnesses said they were nauseated. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Corrections said he'd "never seen anything like we saw this morning." The Governor calmly called for a review of the state's execution procedures. The last investigation claimed the existence of a sponge that served as a poor conductor. This time, however, the proper sponge was said to be in place.

The foes of capital punishment were, as they marched onto "eye-for-an-eye" barricades, moved by the memory of one of their own most effective leaders, Harriet Pratt Morris---"Patsy", who'd died Sunday, aged 66, in Atlanta. Patsy, with her husband, The Reverend John Morris, was among the first to make careful studies proving that the likelihood for receiving the death penalty on a murder conviction, depends in large part on the race and social status of the victim and also in which county the crime occurs. Patsy Morris inspired many members of the legal profession who thereafter began pools of talent to oppose the death penalty. She was a stalwart member of the ACLU.

The American Bar Association recently called for a moratorium on all executions, their findings matching those pioneered by Harriet Pratt Morris. The procedure, as practiced, the ABA voted, is flawed, unfair, and cruel. (See GayToday Archives: February 10, 1997, World)

In Pedro Medina's state-legislated execution, "blue and orange flames shot up to a foot long shot," seconds after 2,000 volts were administered. New evidence showing Medina's innocence, said his lawyer, was ignored by state officials.