Execution

Execution in America has been a controversial subject of debate in recent decades. However, execution and torture itself goes back thousands of years and was turned into what those at the time considered an art form, in the middle ages. It is important for me to illustrate some of the methods of torture and execution throughout history for one to have a grasp of the current debate as to whether or not execution is an ethical practice in today’s society. This writing does not intend to prove pro or con as a just finality since such a proclamation would be futile. Instead, I will bring to light the stark realities of what human beings are capable of and what can possibly be considered social norms or deviancy based on chronological, sociological, ethical and moral situations.

I will go into detail of only a few of the methods of torture used throughout certain periods of history for the sake of the length constraints of this paper, though such illustrations will be more than adequate in leading up to the current ethical considerations on the subject of execution and torture.

The practice of torture and execution goes back to ancient times, though the documented specifics of such events date back to the middle ages, and the frequency and prevalence of these occurrences were also at their peak during this time.

In addition, these tortures and subsequent executions were often witnessed by a great deal of spectators as a form of entertainment; refreshments would be served and parties held in the protagonists honor.

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Two specific cases are as follows: Widely applied in the armed forces, and initiated by the Spanish and utilized up to and including the last century, The Spanish Donkey was the means by which traitors, deserters and insubordinates were dealt with. The torture consisted of seating the victim, hands tied behind the back, astride a wall, the top of which resembled an inverted ‘V’. Weights were then attached to the ankles, these being slowly increased until the victim’s body split in two. This type of device also existed in the British army, though , instead of a cumbersome wall, the appliance was made by nailing suitably shaped wooden planks together in the shape of a horse, its backbone forming a sharp ridge about eight or nine feet long, thereby allowing more than one victim to be punished at a time.

Due to the risk of death, even when prescribed only as a minor punishment, It was realized that, unlike floggings and similar corrective measures, which healed fairly rapidly, the donkey could incapacitate a soldier and make him permanently unfit for army duties, and so the practice was eventually discontinued.

Naval captains of most nations, even as recently as the nineteenth century, had absolute authority over their crews and took whatever measures they saw fit in order to maintain discipline. Serious crimes such as incitement of mutiny, striking an officer and the like, warranted the death sentence. One method of administering this verdict was something called keel-hauling. In 1710 an English Sailor, guilty of blasphemy was stripped of all his clothes except for a strip of cloth around his loins. He was suspended by blocks and pulleys, and these were fastened to the opposite extremities of the yard-arm and a weight

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was hung upon his legs to sink him to a competent depth.

By this apparatus he was drawn up close to the yard-arm, then let fall into the sea where, by hauling on the pulleys of the other end of the yard, he was passed under the ship’s bottom and after some little time, was hoisted up on the other side of the ship; this after sufficient intervals of breathing, was repeated two or three times.

It should be remembered that the height of the old sailing ships was considerable, the fall in itself resulting in possible injury being sustained on hitting the surface of the sea; then to be half drowned, dragged across the hull, which was invariably encrusted with barnacles, limpets, mollusks and other marine creatures, their shells rasping flesh and muscle off ones bones, must have been an ordeal indeed.

Two other methods of torture and execution that are certainly more recent are The Electric Chair and Lethal Injection. The chair was first used on William Kemmler in 1890 in Auburn, New York and injection introduced in the 1970’s. The latter many consider to be the most humane way of putting someone to death in history. However, this may not be true in all cases, especially if the chemical mixture is not perfect, which can result in a very agonizing end.

Lethal injection will be discussed in concentration here since this is the most controversial, recent and common method of execution in the United States in this day and age.

Jonathan Groner, an Ohio doctor of pediatric surgery in Columbus’ Children’s Hospital and associate professor at Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health states “ A humane execution in the ultimate paradox.” The reason for this paradox is that

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in order to execute people without “inflicting torture” states would have to employ licensed doctors to administer the chemical cocktail, but medical professionals are bound to an oath and ethics to do no harm, and are ethically unable to participate in executions. Groner more specifically calls this cycle the “executioner’s paradox.” Using Ohio State as a template, this writer can illustrate as done earlier , the specifics of the lethal injection procedure and protocol; it is as follows:

The prisoner is strapped to a stretcher and injected with anesthetic sodium pentothal. Without anesthesia the inmate would experience asphyxiation, a severe burning sensation, and cardiac arrest. Now unconscious, the prisoner is injected with pancuronium bromide, which paralyses muscles including the lungs and diaphragm. Pavulon is often used in immobilizing patients during surgical procedures.

The two drugs are followed by an injection of potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest; this would also produce tremendous pain to a conscious inmate.

A study published in 2005 by the English medical journal Lancet, authors found that on the basis of toxicology reports from six U.S. states 43% of prisoners had remained conscious after the dose of sedatives was administered. The Lancet concluded that “It would be a cruel way to die: awake, paralyzed, unable to move, to breath, while potassium burned through your veins.”

The question still looms however, with the eye for an eye society; and it is a very valid question. How would you feel if the same inmate receiving death by injection had murdered your wife, daughter ect. I suppose very good questions like this cannot be answered unless it has actually occurred to an individual. Is a life sentence in prison more

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of a punishment than death? Those on death row sometimes remain there for years before they walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Groner states that in regards to this current question, “All of Europe does not execute people. Our founding fathers conscious decision was that we wouldn’t be an eye for an eye society. I would also say that you can judge a society by is prisons. How we take care of society’s ill off reflects on a society at large; and there is nobody worse off than a death row inmate.”

This is a bit off point for our purposes here however. The true issue here lies with “the executioners”, who are essentially the licensed doctors who are actually giving the final death blow. Is it unethical for doctors to aid in the administration and execution of individuals? In my honest opinion, yes. Do I think that other methods of execution would not put doctors in the position as executioner? Yes. Do I think that lethal injection should be discarded in favor of other methods of execution that do not place doctors in the questionable ehical practice of execution? Yes. This intellectual venture was not about abolishing or not abolishing the death penalty, it was a matter of the ethics involved for the doctors who must take part in such events. I do not think that they should be involved in the process.

References

Sturm, D. (2006, October 12). Is lethal injection barbaric? Ohio revisits the ethics of execution. The Free Press. Retrieved April 12, 2007, from

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/2/2006/2178

Abbot, G. (2005) Execution: The Guillotine, the Pendulum, the Thousand Cuts, the Spanish Donkey, and 66 Other Ways of Putting Someone to Death. New York New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Sexuality in Europe

Introduction

European sexuality has long been more open and accepted than in North America. In addition, North America is only now beginning to realize that borrowing European sexual attitudes is healthier in the fact that it can decrease sex crimes. I will illustrate these points given the proper channels. I will also go into greater depth in the areas of female orgasm, and how European females have more potent orgasms in general because their view of sexuality is one of freedom and health, as opposed to guilt and it being looked down upon. Erotic art museums will be tapped upon as well, illustrating how European nations are the leader in this area, and how sex is showcased for the beauty it holds, rather than sweeping it under the carpet.

Finally, I will present some opposing viewpoints to my research.

Abstract

I have elected to use much more than only two articles for my information regarding this topic; therefore I cannot adhere to only two sources, as it would be professionally irresponsible. I will cite my sources throughout the paper accordingly and will have a substantial reference page. Let us begin.

Below are a list of stats on rape per country between 1998-2000 which is recent enough to get a clear idea of what we are dealing with here; with the U.S. far surpassing all European nations.

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Rapes per country in ’98-00 are as follows:

United States

- 89,110 Spain - 5,664 Norway - 555 Netherlands - 1,648

United Kingdom - 8,593 France - 8,458 Finland - 579 Denmark - 497

Germany - 7,499 Poland - 2,399 Ireland - 218 Switzerland - 404

Bulgaria - 593 Hungary - 589 Estonia - 73 Belarus - 530

Lithuania - 183 Romania - 1,110 Czech Republic - 500

Russia - 6,978 Latvia - 104 Moldova - 200 Slovenia - 86

Italy - 2,336 Portugal - 385 Ukraine - 1,151 Slovakia - 129

Greece - 114

Per capita you ask? The U.S. is number 9 out of the top 65 countries. The U.S. is also far above any other European nation per capita.

(Seventh United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, covering the period 1998 - 2000 (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Centre for International Crime Prevention)

The question still remains as to why? Why do European nations have such a low rate of rape compared to the U.S.? My hypothesis is that because sexuality in Europe has always been open and regarded as beautiful, the need to commit violent repressed rage in a sexual way is less likely to occur. However, in contrast to the U.S. where sex is seen and perceived as “dirty”, “wrong” and immoral, the degree to which the repression manifests itself as anger grows stronger especially in men. In addition with regard to women, American women in general are more likely to be afraid to engage in a sexual relations with sexually aggressive men and/or women and thus will have a harder time achieving orgasm, than will a more freethinking European female. Of course I am referring to any sexual advance or activity that does not involve children, animals or humiliation or pain.

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“Eastern European females, specifically from Russia, Hungary and Bulgaria are the most sexually active in the world, by having sex 150 times per year.” (Durex 2003) Italian females are the most likely to achieve an orgasm every time they have sex according to the 2004 Durex survey. Also found in the 2004 Durex survey, Croatians, Hungarians and Italian females were the most sexually satisfied and thus did not need to fake orgasms. In the 2005 Durex survey, it should not be a suprise that again the European females top the list in sexual satisfaction, with Polish and Belgians coming in at 57% and 56% respectively.

The Swedes and Scandinavians top the list of who wanted more sex, thus illustrating the healthy drive European females have toward sex. Also in the 2005 Durex survey the overall winners as being the most sexual are Greek females with the Croats coming in second. The point is clear that European females enjoy sex and are more proficient at it than their American counterparts.

Erotic art is another facet of European sexual culture that has set the standards for the United States. I will not delve too far into the past regarding this, however I will look at the current phenomena. Sex museums or now better known as erotic art museums, became most popular in Europe in the 1960’s. Of course the most concentrated number of erotic art museums exist in Europe and only about a handful exist in the U.S. The list in Europe contains such places as: -The Mussee in Paris which opened in 1998

-De Wallen in Amsterdam’s Red Light District

-The Venus Temple also in Amsterdam’s Red Light District is the oldest operating sex museum upon opening in 1985.

- The Erotic Art Museum in Hamburg , Germany

- The Beate Uhse Erotic Museum in Berlin, which is the largest erotic museum in the

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world.

- The Museum Erotica in Copenhagen, Denmark

- The Museo de la Erotica in Barcelona, Spain

- The Erotic Art Museum in St. Petersburg Russia claims to have the remains of Raputin’s penis.

The first erotic art museum to open in the U.S. was in New York City called the Museum of Sex in 2002.

In Miami Beach the World Erotic Art Museum opened its doors in 2005. Surely children should not be exposed to this kind of art, since they do not have the emotional or intellectual insight to grasp what the work is offering, but they should be opened up to this as adolescents and shown how sex is beautiful and natural and not a sin, and indeed patrons of the Museums in Europe come from all walks of life, including adolescents. For every position in life there is an opposite, and the case is no different here. There have been many opponents to free sexual attitudes in the history of man, or at least in the history of the United States.

Some say that pornography for instance, leads to greater violence against women; I am not one of those people. In fact I believe that it is quite the opposite. In the 70’s and 80’s feminists such as Andrea Dworkin claimed that viewing pornography leads to greater sex crimes particularly against women. A lower per capita crime rate as discussed earlier has led not only myself but others to conclude that the availability of porn in European nations such as The Netherlands and Sweden leads to fewer sex crimes, since the repression is nonexistent and there is a medium for healthy males to release sexual feelings in a nonviolent way. (Polinski 2006)

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There is also evidence that areas in the U.S. where there is limited internet access, in turn leads to a higher incidence of rape. (D’Amato 2006)

There is also the argument that viewing erotic images in any form or engaging in vast amounts of sexual activity will lead to violence. Back in the 1980’s there was a huge debate in this area in relation to heavy metal music. The fact is, that a well psychologically rounded individual who views erotic images understands the line between what is on display and what is a social norm. However, those with already existing or predisposed tendencies toward violence will likely be affected by these images in a negative way; thus the problem lies with the individual and not with the art form.

Conclusion

Sex is a beautiful and natural occurrence; to ignore this fact would be unnatural. Of course, there are sociological norms that must be dealt with and considered before engaging in any sexual practice. The point of this paper is to try and bring to light my point that sexual freedom and expression is not dirty, should not be looked down upon, and should be cherished. Europeans had the right idea from the beginning, and it seems as if at least some of their practices are making ripples (not waves as of yet) here in America. I truly believe that with open sexuality comes fewer hate crimes, sex crimes, violent crimes and rapes.

In addition, open sexuality actually gives women more power than inhibits them from it, and brings a more level playing field to the sexes. The female orgasm is a phenomena and we have only tapped the surface as of yet; no pun intended. Female sexuality (female orgasm and ejaculation especially) is, in my opinion, an area that I just may make my career, since it encompasses so many things and is still so much a mystery. I look forward to it all

References

Pornography, rape and the internet. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.

D'Amato, Anthony (June 23, 2006). Porn Up, Rape Down. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.

http://www.durex.com/uk/globalsexsurvey/2005results.asp Retrieved on 2007-03-12.