The drugs used to execute prisoners in the United States sometimes fail to work as planned, causing slow and painful deaths that probably violate constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment, a new medical review of dozens of executions concludes.
The review looked at the executions of 40 prisoners in North Carolina since 1984 and about a dozen in California, plus incomplete information from Florida and Virginia. The authors analyzed details such as the dose the inmates received, their weight and the time they needed to die.

Even when administered properly, the three-drug lethal injection method appears to have caused some inmates to suffocate while they were conscious and unable to move, instead of having their hearts stopped while they were sedated, scientists said in a report published Monday by the online journal PLoS Medicine.

No scientific groups have ever validated that lethal injection is humane, the authors write. Medical ethics bar doctors and other health professionals from taking part in executions.

The study concluded that the typical "one-size-fits-all" doses of anesthetic do not take into account an inmate's weight and other key factors. Some inmates got too little, and in some cases, the anesthetic wore off before the execution was complete, the authors found.

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"You wouldn't be able to use this protocol to kill a pig at the University of Miami" without more proof that it worked as intended, said Teresa Zimmers, a biologist there who led the study.

The journal's editors call for abolishing the death penalty, writing: "There is no humane way of forcibly killing someone."

Lethal injection has been adopted by 37 states as a cheaper and more humane alternative to electrocution, gas chambers and other execution methods.

But 11 states have suspended its use after opponents alleged it is ineffective and cruel. The issue came to a head last year in California, when a federal judge ordered that doctors assist in killing Michael Morales, convicted of raping and murdering a teenage girl. Doctors refused, and legal arguments continue in the case.

In 2005 alone, at least 2,148 people have been killed by lethal injection in 22 countries, especially China, where fleets of mobile execution vans are used, the editors write, citing Amnesty International figures. Of the 53 executions in the United States in 2006, all but one were by lethal injection.

The new review was written by many of the same authors who touched off controversy when they published a 2005 report suggesting that many inmates were conscious and possibly suffering when the last of the drugs was given.

That report was criticized for its methodology, which relied on blood samples taken from prisoners hours after executions.

Most states use three drugs — thiopental, an anesthetic; pancuronium bromide, a nerve blocker and muscle paralyzer; and potassium chloride, a drug to stop the heart. Each is supposed to be capable of killing all by itself, but if not, the anesthetic is supposed to render the inmate unconscious while the other drugs do the job.

In 33 North Carolina executions, the average death time was 10 to 14 minutes, depending on the combination of drugs used, the authors report. Calculating each inmate's actual dose, based on his or her weight, they concluded that some did not receive enough.

"The person would feel either asphyxiation or the burning sensation associated with the potassium," said Dr. Leonidas Koniaris, a surgeon and co-author at the University of Miami. "The potassium would cause extreme discomfort, something like being put on fire."

Even the final drug did not always prove fatal as intended. At least one California inmate required a second dose, and the California warden has said additional doses were used in two other executions, the study reports.

Death penalty proponents complained the report's conclusions were based on scant scientific evidence.

"It's more like political science than medical science," said Mike Rushford, president of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in Sacramento.

Steve Stewart, prosecuting attorney in Clark County, Indiana, where an execution is scheduled for May 4, said the simple solution seemed to be to give a higher dose of the anesthetic, which probably would not satisfy opponents who see all methods as barbaric.

"It doesn't matter a whole lot to me that someone may have felt some pain before they were administered poison as a method of execution," he said.

Dr. Mark Heath, an anesthesiologist at Columbia University Medical Center who has studied lethal injection cases, took issue with some of the paper's conclusions, but said it generally showed that concerns about lethal injection in its current form "are well-justified."

Editors said they sent the manuscript to three independent medical experts for review — an anesthesiologist, a forensic pathologist and someone in charge of a critical care unit, plus a lawyer.

"We were satisfied" with the science, said Dr. Virginia Barbour, a British physician who is managing editor of the journal, published by the non-profit group Public Library of Science. "The difficulty of a paper like this is that there is very poor evidence for all the kinds of protocols used" in lethal injections, but the authors did a good job analyzing what there is, she said.

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This massacre that happened at VA Tech has me wondering something. I keep seeing and hearing ppl say "I feel sorry for those families", or headlines in the paper like "In mourning...". My q is this...do ppl REALLY feel these ways?? Do ppl really care about those that lost lives at VA Tech? I sure as hell don't. I don't care what happened...actually, I find it kinda funny that he killed the first two, the campus wasn't locked down (I understand their reasons why) and then TWO hours later he kills a shitload of other ppl. I have no feelings towards those families that lost loved ones. Another example, an ex-coworker told me his mom is in the hospital. Of course, the appropriate response is "I'm sorry to hear that, I hope she gets well soon" and I replied accordingly. However, in reality, I give less than a shit she's in the hospital. I NEVER met her...so why should I give a fuck? I only said it 'cuz I know it's what is expected of a "normal" person....and enough ppl already wonder about me as it is. LOL But, seriously, do ppl really care about others like that, that they have never even fuckin' met?? Or am I alone in the fact that I don't give a shit about anyone that is not related to me or that I don't know personally? Please...respond, and let me know...I am really curious to find out the answer to this.

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Well, today I had a business consultation at the local SBDC Business Center. It was quite comical. I spoke to the woman doing my consultation, over the phone on Monday and had given her a brief idea of what my business will be (selling merchandise dealing with the macabre). I get there today, and she hadn't arrived yet, so I waited in the room. After about five minutes, she walks in. Now, keep in mind that for this consultation, I'm discussing serial killers, murderablia, Serial Killer Central, SatanSpace, The Redrum Shop, T-shirt Hell, Rotten Cotton, etc, etc. What was so ironic (and humorous) about the situation is my consultant. She was a.........

Mennonite!!!!! HAHA!! (for those who don't know what a Mennonite is, it's like an Amish person, altho they are not as strict-they use electricity, drive cars, etc, but are very religious). LMAO! When I left there, I was laughing to myself. She handled everything very professionally, I was impressed. Didn't give any sign that she disagreed with any of my ideas (due to subject matter). Haha...I can only imagine what she is thinking of me tho. Especially with the upcoming "Victims Rights" rally. LMAO!

For those not familiar, here's what Mennonite women (well, the more "traditional" ones..including my consultant) dress like:

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LOL...some of these shirts are funny as hell!!!!!! *WARNING* some may be offensive to ppl.

Sinful Shirts

T-Shirt Hell

Rotten Cotton

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I know I mentioned in my blog about my murderous thoughts, about a Nightmare on Elm Street comic book I had when I was 8 yo. I don't have that book anymore, sadly. But, I found a page where someone had put the entire book up...page by page, so that you can actually read it. Anyways, I loved this comic book when I was little...and now you'll know what I was referring to in my previous blog. Here's the link:

http://nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com/Comics/m01/index.html

Enjoy!

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Some of you may know that I am currently unemployed. Luckily, I have my tax return to help out for a while. And luckily (or in some regards, unluckily), I'm staying with my mom...which I HATE! Anyways, I've been trying to find a new job...going to the career center every day, submitting applications, resumes, etc...to no avail. It's getting very frustrating. Yes, I want to start my own business...and I think I will do good on that venture, but between now and then, I need a regular job. A small busniess loses money the first year typically...so I need some sort of income. Especially since I have my daughter to take care of. sigh.

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I got a Living Dead doll! She arrived yesterday, complete with death certificate. Her name is Jezebel. I tried to get a pic of the certificate but it didn't come out well, so I will try again later.

The death cert says "Lacerations to forearms apparently self-inflicted causing sever loss of blood".

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I figured I'd post this to try to explain my darker lusts to ppl Where they first began, I'm not sure or why...hard to explain. I've always been fascinated with death and murder in particular, since I was a little girl. I've been watching horror movies since I was 1....never had a nightmare. My fave toy when I was 5 was a wooden guillotine for my Barbie dolls. But when I turned 8, I got a Nightmare on Elm Street comic book...not super graphic, but graphic enough...there's a rape scene and some murder scenes that aroused me...I think that is when my first sexual interest and my interest in murder became intertwined. I'm not saying that media made me have these thoughts...I think my childhood and the fact I was abused (and I suspect abuse occurred long before I really remember it...I have a tendency to black out easily, dissociate, etc) played a part in it, along with the fact that mental illness does run in my family. I think MAYBE (big maybe) the media just added fuel to the fire...don't know.

Fast forward...

My lusts are centered on control...much like what is written the book "Killing for Company" in re: to Schizoid Personality Disorder; it says..."they are afraid of being at the mercy of anyone on who they are emotinally dependent, they never allow their vulnerablility to show"..."they will not risk any such disappointment again. They therefore compensate with a disproportianate desire for power and superiority, and if they cannot attain this in reality, they invent it in fantasy".

I can tell you why I think I have such a hatred for women and why they would be my intended victims. There's three reasons:

1. My mom knew I was being sexually abused...and she did not protect me. I see women as weak, due in part to how my mom is in all her relationships with men, and I HATE that...I hate weakness, hate women for that. Imo, as a mother to my own children, my daughter will ALWAYS come first, even if it means putting my own life at risk, she will never go thru what I went thru.

2. During the abuse, my body reacted how it is meant to react during sex (there was no physical force, no physical violence in the way of choking or hitting, etc)...and I was disgusted with myself. So, in a projection of my own self-hatred, I want to destroy on them what I hate most about myself, the part that makes me female (hence you will at times read where I say I'd rape them with a knife). The fact that there was no physical violence to me is also the reason, I believe, I enjoy bdsm when with a guy...it's the opposite of what my abuse was like.

3. Also, being bi in school, and the girls that I was attracted to were alwasy so cruel to me (no one ever knew I was bi, tho). I never had a lot of friends. I was always teased for being ugly. So, these fuckin' stuck-up bitches...I just want to take them down a peg or two...show them that they ain't shit, that they aren't better than me...I want to destroy them, torture them, break them down mentally...

The rape, torture, kill, and necro aspects of my desirs are all power-driven. That power would be extremely arousing to me. Hell,the thoughts are arousing, and almost obssessive for me. Haha...I guess it's a bit confusing. I've been told I'm a walking contradiction...even I have a hard time understanding myself sometimes. LOL

I hope this helps...if you have any more q's or want clarification...feel free to ask.

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I am working on trying to start my own business. I'm very excited about this endeavor, but I know it will be a while before it gets off the ground, as it will be expensive to start. But, I'm looking forward to it. I will be selling merchandise (online) that is geared towards the macabre...primarily murder, serial killers, etc. Some of the things I hope to offer include (but not limited to), t-shirts, magnets, keychains, coffee mugs, playing cards, greeting cards, figurines, etc. Anyways, just felt like posting about it, as I'm very happy to be working on this. I just hope that it does well.

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