Michael Morales

Last night, the state of California indefinitely postponed the execution of Michael Morales, who was sentenced to death for the 1981 rape and murder of 17-year-old Terri Winchell.

Lawyers for Morales claim that the typical three-drug (the first one renders the condemned unconscious and insensible to pain, the second one paralyzes the muscles, and the third one causes cardiac arrest) implementation constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment.” This coming from defense attorneys defending Morales, who raped, repeatedly stabbed, and smashed Terri Winchell’s head in with a hammer before leaving her for dead in a remote location.

Last week, a U.S. District Court Judge ordered the state to modify California’s execution procedures to ensure Morales did not suffer the “extreme” pain that some of the drugs could cause if he were still conscious. The judge planned to have physicians present at the prision to oversee the execution. But after two physicians refused to participate, the state could not find a medical professional to administer the injection. So the execution has been postponed until further notice.

OK let me see if I get this straight. An admitted rapist and murderer is hoping that the state and the judicial system will spear him from “cruel and unusual punishment”…? An act that he didn’t give to his victim when he brutually murdered her and left her for dead. And receiving this three-drug “shot” is just too much pain for Morales to handle? You have got to be kidding me! Morales should be thanking his lucky stars that California doesn’t practice other forms of capital punishment such as hangings, decapitations, or the electric chair! How must Terri Winchell have felt when she was probably pleading for her life while her death was upon her? What must her family have gone through when identifying her body and knowing the injustices that were committed on her? Do I believe in forgiveness for a heinious crime when committed by a sane mind? No. Do I believe in the dealth penalty? Yes. Do I believe in justice for victims and their respective families? Hell Yes. So the question and debate should not be about the death penalty or the intricacies of lethal injection, but how soon we can contact Dr. Kevorkian.