Subscribe to Receive the Daily Report

Tuesday, April 30th, 2024

Prison officers traumatized by rate of executions in US death penalty states

Author:     Ed Pilkington
Source:     The Guardian (U.K.)
Publication Date:     Sun 28 Apr 2024 | 07.00 EDT
 Link: Prison officers traumatized by rate of executions in US death penalty states
Stephan:  

One of the things that stands out for me about states governed by Republicans is the sheer nastiness of their governance. Take the authorization of government murder of prisoners. Only five states — Texas, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Alabama — authorize such killings and, of course, they are all Red states. As this report describes this government authorized murder is so traumatic that the employees who have to carry it out are traumatized and complaining about it.

An arm restraint on the gurney in the execution chamber of the Oklahoma state penitentiary in 2014. Credit: Sue Ogrocki / AP

The relentless pursuit of “non-stop executions” by a rump of US death penalty states is exposing prison staff to extreme levels of psychological and physical stress, according to traumatized corrections officers who are appealing for help.

Though capital punishment is generally on the wane in America, with only five states carrying out executions last year, those states that remain active are showing a renewed determination. In some states, the pace of judicial killings is now so intense that prison guards are kept in an almost permanent state of readiness, with mock executions staged on a rolling basis.

Pursuit of ‘non-stop executions’ causing psychological distress to corrections staff as states urged to widen gap between executions

The relentless pursuit of “non-stop executions” by a rump of US death penalty states is exposing prison staff to extreme levels of psychological and physical stress, according to traumatized corrections officers who are appealing for help.

Though capital punishment is generally on the wane in America, with only five […]

Read the Full Article