Word: lethal
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Tuesday evening, Earl W. Berry, a Mississippi prisoner condemned to lethal injection, was just moments away from facing his fate when the Supreme Court wisely granted a stay of execution. Legal experts say that this decision signals to lower courts that a de facto moratorium on lethal injection is in place, at least until the Supreme Court hears a case on whether injection is cruel and unusual later this term. Although this is a step in the right direction, it is a distraction to the real issue at hand: the ultimate end of capital punishment. It seems likely that...
Early concerns about Tasers centered on the issue of safety, but the controversy has recently taken a new twist, focusing on the conflict between civil rights and police procedure. Though the device was initially developed as an alternative to lethal force, it has become a go-to weapon in situations of noncompliance even when the use of firearms would not be considered - like the incident with Meyer, who agreed to 18 months of probation on Tuesday in order to avoid criminal charges of resisting arrest. "I think because it's electricity, and because of past use of electricity in torture...
...police. Taser International, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based maker of the device, began offering the weapon to law enforcement agencies in 1998. Since then, more than 12,000 departments have adopted it. Yet critics say that more studies need to be done to determine the safety of the "less-than-lethal" device. Last month researchers at Wake Forest University released the first large, independent study of injuries associated with Tasers, finding that they are relatively harmless and pose minimal risk of injury. In a review of nearly 1,000 cases, 99.7% of those subjected to a Taser had no injuries...
...been running in and out of traffic as he tried to escape a treatment center. Other cases across the country include the use of Tasers on pregnant women, the elderly and children as young as six. Tasering someone on drugs has proven to be especially dangerous and often lethal...
Rather than regulate the Taser's use, some government officials hope to replace the controversial device altogether. The Department of Homeland Security is funding the creation of a new non-lethal weapon called the LED Incapacitator, a flashlight-like device that uses high-intensity LEDs, pulsating at varying rates, to render a suspect temporarily blind and dizzy...