Category: Religion / Religious / Theocracy

Florida: State Attorney General Asks State Court to Strike Abortion Referendum Because Voters Won’t Understand It

Florida: State Attorney General Asks State Court to Strike Abortion Referendum Because Voters Won’t Understand It

This is the result and fear of the minority when they try to rule over the majority.   Think of it.  The majority of the voting public, the people, want this right.  So republicans being a minority based on misogynistic religious ideals want to deny the majority the right to have a say.   That is the republican right wing maga in its entirety.   That is the mom’s of liberty, the mom’s of TikTok, it is the idea that a racist bigoted repressive regressive oppressive religious minority trying desperately to force their ideas on the rest of society.  I am so sick of these anti-democracy theocratic republican minority trying to force the rest of the country to live by what their preacher says.   Hugs.   Scottie

 

Arizona bill would ban Satanic displays on public property

https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/arizona-bill-would-ban-satanic-displays

Again this is about making sure only their god is seen, celebrated, and worshiped.  It must be only their god in schools, seen in public, and running the government.  It must be prevented that this fundamentalist minority in their own religion must be prevented from taking over the country.  Hugs.  Scottie

The GOP-backed bill selectively prevents one group from accessing public spaces

FEB 5, 2024
 

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Republicans in Arizona have introduced a bill that would ban Satanic displays in public spaces. It comes months after a Satanic display in the Iowa Capitol sent conservatives reeling, leading one man to vandalize it. (Just last week, he was charged with a hate crime.)

Titled the “Reject Escalating Satanism by Preserving Essential Core Traditions (RESPECT) Act,” SB 1279 would alter the law by adding the following line to three different parts of the state statute:

SATANIC MEMORIALS, STATUES, ALTARS OR DISPLAYS OR ANY OTHER METHOD OF REPRESENTING OR HONORING SATAN MAY NOT BE DISPLAYED ON PUBLIC PROPERTY IN THIS STATE.

 

The bill was introduced by Sen. Jake Hoffman, a first-term senator and former member of the State House most (in)famous for being one of Arizona’s fake electors back in 2020.

 
Sen. Jake Hoffman (screenshot via YouTube)

He’s joined by a dozen fellow Republican co-sponsors who don’t understand that the Establishment Clause doesn’t allow them to exclude one particular religious icon just because they disagree with whatever they think it represents.

Because if there’s one thing we know about Satanic monuments, it’s that groups like The Satanic Temple only request that they go up when there’s a Christian monument already in place. In Arkansas, for example, there’s an ongoing lawsuit involving Satanists who sued after state officials rejected their statue of Baphomet despite allowing a Ten Commandments on Capitol grounds.

By singling out one religious group’s monuments for exclusion—presumably when displays from other faiths would be allowed—this bill would almost certainly trigger a lawsuit if passed.

Even the title is a farce. What’s the danger of “escalating Satanism”? Too much compassion and empathy? What “essential core traditions” are Arizona Republicans trying to preserve? Apparently they involve religious supremacy.

Bills like this, though, aren’t introduced because there’s any chance of them passing. They’re introduced to placate conservative Christians who fantasize about living in a theocracy. They’re a reminder that Christians like Hoffman believe they’re superior to people who don’t share their faith, and they intend to use the government to codify that belief into law—or at least send that message.

The Satanic Temple’s co-founder Lucien Greaves shared a similar view in an email. saying he found the bill “frightening” for what it symbolized more than what it would actually do:

The bill is frightening. Not because I worry that it will pass and will reduce us to a lower tier of citizenship, but because it has no hope of passing, and is so flagrantly unconstitutional that it demonstrates the most horrific incompetence of its every signatory from the Arizona senate.

These are public representatives who not only disrespect the oath of office they swore to uphold, but apparently have no clear understanding of what the purpose of their office is, or what legal principles underpin their authority to begin with.

For an actual senator to write and/or sign such a hopelessly illegal, petty and futile bill is to announce utter and complete ignorance as to the function of their office, and total disregard for the services they are expected to perform as public representatives.

Presenting such a bill, as a Senator, should be a sanctionable offense, as it impossible to imagine that any signatory to a document so embarrassingly juvenile and counter-Constitutional could ever truly be effective at anything. 

SB 1279 will be formally discussed during a hearing of the Committee on Government on Wednesday morning. That committee happens to include Sen. Juan Mendez, a Democrat who’s openly atheist. So there will be at least one voice of reason in the mix.

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Texas lawmaker: I want Christian chaplains in schools to “put God back in government”

https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/texas-lawmaker-i-want-christian-chaplains

These people are not even trying to hide their real goal.  It is not about helping kids, it is not about saving money by not hiring trained professionals.   Nope it is about pushing their god on to everyone and creating a theocracy instead of our democracy.  I don’t know what more there is to say.  Yet as it has been well shown they don’t follow the saying of the very person their religion is named for, Christ.  Hugs.  Scottie

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I’ve already written about how Texas has passed a law allowing trained social workers to be replaced by Christian chaplains in public schools (even though religious chaplains are begging districts not to go through with it). More recently, Iowa Republicans have filed a bill to allow chaplains in public schools. Republicans in Florida have advanced a similar bill, giving “local school districts the option to establish a volunteer chaplaincy program.”

Critics have been saying for months now that this is nothing more than a new way to shove Christianity into public schools, while defenders of these bills say it’s a way to improve students’ mental health at a time when schools are understaffed when it comes to social workers and counselors. Inviting chaplains into schools, said one advocacy group, would give kids “a solid spiritual foundation and a safe space to express their pain and frustrations.”

See, everyone? It’s not about religious indoctrination. It’s about meeting the needs of students with the help of faith-based groups.

About that.

Even one of the architects of the Texas chaplain law, Sen. Mayes Middleton, is freely admitting this has everything to do with getting God into schools.

 
State Senator Mayes Middleton (screenshot via YouTube)

On Monday, Middleton appeared on “The WallBuilders Show,” a podcast hosted by Christian pseudo-historians David Barton and son Tim Barton along with Rick Green (a self-described “Constitution Coach”).

During a discussion with Green, Middleton repeatedly admitted that the true goal of his bill was “putting God back in government”:

… what happened is our U.S. Supreme Court, thanks to President Trump’s appointments, made it possible for us to go win some of these fights and put God back in government so people can freely exercise their religious beliefs in government and in schools.

…

… This allows students, faculty, staff, to freely exercise their religion and have this tool available. Someone to talk to from a Godly perspective, because chaplains represent God in government. That’s what they do and that’s what we need more of in this country. And thankfully, because of the Coach Kennedy case, we’re able to do that without any legal challenges. Of course, these atheist groups out of Washington D.C. oppose chaplains in schools, but their legal arguments are now totally meritless, and they won’t win if they try.

Middleton added that part of his legislation required Texas districts to vote on whether or not they wanted to allow chaplains into their schools… but it’s not really a choice. Because if they vote against it, Middleton says litigation could be forthcoming:

… Sadly, some of the districts have listened to some of these atheist organizations, out-of-state Washington D.C. organizations. I know one district that’s very close by that actually voted to ban chaplains. Which, wow, honestly, that’s probably a larger risk for litigation because, in that case, you’re prohibiting, for example, a teacher or admin or somebody at the district from seeing someone based solely on their religious beliefs. Yeah, and that is a serious religious liberties issue.

First of all, the idea that there are a slew of atheist organizations based in Washington, D.C.—and that they all have this outsized power—is laughable. (If only!)

But more to the point, no church/state separation group would ever prevent a staffer or student from seeing a chaplain who shares their religious views. They can always go to church for that. What they can’t do—and shouldn’t be allowed to do—is use government resources to advance their religious agenda.

Middleton doesn’t give a damn about non-Christian students because he knows his bill would benefit Christians (who have the infrastructure to create and ordain chaplains) far more than any other group. In fact, his bill didn’t even require those chaplains to have any formal training, which means helping students isn’t even a priority for the Republicans who passed the bill. They just needed a way to get Jesus into the building and this could do the trick.

Elsewhere in the interview, Middleton argued that schools have been worse off ever since “prayer was taken out of our public schools in the 1960s” (which it wasn’t). This is what he does, though: He floods the zone with faith-based bullshit in order to win over gullible Christians who don’t know any better. Middleton has also filed multiple bills to bring Bible reading to public schools and do away with all kinds of church/state separation barriers.

He pushed those bills for the same reason he pushed this one: He firmly believes the church—his church specifically—should dictate all state policy. And Texas Republicans, unfortunately, don’t have the courage to say no to him.

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Let’s talk about Netflix, Alexander the Great, and disbelief….

Town manager quits over anti-gay pressure in quaint New Hampshire town

https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/town-manager-quits-over-anti-gay-pressure-quaint-new-hampshire-town/MOJ5M4JYXRD3JKHS7HTVMT2NUI

The rabid fundamental Christian right is trying to do in other places what they accomplished in Florida, a government take over so they can force everyone to live by their regressive rules.  In a lot of red state areas that they did this, the majority has risen up to try to take back the government from the haters / fundies.  But in sleep small towns in blue states, the people are not aware of the danger the anti-LGBTQIA fundamentalist right present.  Anytime someone uses the word abomination to describe gay people, you know their stance is being directed by religious church doctrine, not science or reality.   LGBTQIA are not abominations, but people who support hate, taking away equality from people, and oppression are.     Hugs.  Scottie

 The quaint town of Littleton, New Hampshire, is seeing more tourists, drawn to a main street of shops and restaurants where rainbow colors and gay pride symbols can be seen alongside American flags. Its population of 6,000 is growing younger and more diverse, supporting LGBTQ-themed art and a local theater’s gay-themed musical.

The culture change doesn’t sit well with town selectboard member Carrie Gendreau, who also serves as a Republican state senator. Last year, she said that “homosexuality is an abomination” and spoke of regulating art on public property, prompting a backlash and now the resignation of the town manager, whose late son was gay.

“My son is not an abomination,” Jim Gleason told the selectboard in January, to a standing ovation, when he announced his last day was Friday. He accused Gendreau of creating a toxic work environment by repeatedly making derogatory comments about gay people. Friday also was Gendreau’s deadline to file for reelection to the board, but she didn’t, so her three-year term ends in March.

 

A former mill town in the White Mountains, Littleton reversed a long decline in part through art. Tourists come now for antiques, galleries, boutiques and “the world’s longest candy counter.” They also look at the bronze statue of Pollyanna, erected outside the public library to honor the 1913 book by local author Eleanor H. Porter, whose main character came to define relentless optimism.

 

Pollyanna’s motto “Be Glad!” — which hangs from banners up and down Main Street — has been tested as townspeople found themselves debating over inclusion, tolerance and equality.

The controversy began in August, after three small murals funded by a diversity, equity and inclusion grant appeared on the side of a building that houses a restaurant and clothing store. Covering boarded-up windows, the murals show a white iris against a color wheel, two birch trees bending under a night sky, and a dandelion reaching skyward from an open book.

“What went up was not good,” said Gendreau, urging the selectboard’s audience to research what such symbols really mean. “I don’t want that to be in our town. I don’t want it to be here.”

The board then sought an attorney’s advice on what they could do to regulate artistic expression on town property and Gendreau gave several interviews, telling The Boston Globe that the iris painting carried “demonic hidden messages.”

 

The artist, Meg Reinhold, said her “We Are Joy” painting was inspired by Iris, the Greek goddess of rainbows. She told The Associated Press in an email that she hoped to “evoke feelings of joy and empowerment,” add beauty to Littleton, and celebrate people living with pride in the LGBTQ+ community.

“If a viewer looks at these works and sees demons and darkness, what does that tell us about how they view the world?” Reinhold said.

Gleason, who answered to the board as town manager, said he tried to resolve matters. When a woman approached him demanding to stop the November production of “La Cage aux Folles” — depicted on screen as “The Birdcage” — he said she was free to protest outside the theater or not buy a ticket.

She responded by invoking his son, saying “He’s in hell with the devil where he belongs,” recalled Gleason, and he said Gendreau tried to justify the the comments. The woman later admitted sending Gleason a photo of him clipped from a newspaper with derogatory language written across his face. A judge granted Gleason a restraining order against her.

As fears of a public art ban spread, selectboard meetings drew large crowds.

Ronnie Sandler, 75, an out lesbian all her adult life, said she spoke up at a selectboard meeting last fall because some of her friends told her they were scared.

“I have never felt any hatred or anything targeted at me in all of those years,” she told the AP. “Back in the late ‘70s, my girlfriend and I used to walk around in Littleton holding hands.”

A group of local business owners led by auto dealership manager Duane Coute submitted a letter signed by more than 1,000 people from Littleton and across the country urging the board to abandon “a path so detrimental to business.”

“Our community is so much stronger because of this situation,” Coute said.

New Hampshire’s Democratic-led congressional delegation stressed “how integral public art and cultural expression are to the economic wellbeing and competitiveness of towns like Littleton and similar communities throughout New Hampshire.” Surrounding towns adopted inclusivity-equality resolutions.

Some people backed Gendreau.

“She speaks for those stakeholders who are afraid to speak out due to personal retribution. She speaks out for those who are afraid for their own personal safety,” Nick De Mayo of nearby Sugar Hill, in Gendreau’s Senate district, wrote in a letter to the editor.

Others called the whole experience disappointing and disgraceful.

“It’s coming from a very small group of people. Unfortunately, that small group of people hold elected office and have some degree of power within the town,” said Kevin Silva, a physician who has lived in Littleton for about 20 years.

The board ultimately announced that they never sought an art ban. Selectboard member Linda MacNeil drew a standing ovation when she said “Whether we agree with the content or not, art is part of the fabric of history and should not be censored.” Roger Emerson, chairperson of the three-member board, did not take a position on the subject.

Gleason, 65, expressed amazement during his resignation speech at an outpouring of support for his defense of the arts, and urged his fellow townspeople to keep working “for civil rights and equality for all.”

“Keep up the fight,” he told the audience in a quavering voice. ‘You’ve got a beautiful town.”

Gleason, who was hired in 2021 following a similar job in Florida, told the AP he’s been thinking of his son Patrick, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2016.

“I believe he’d be proud of his dad for standing up, not just for him, but for everybody in the LGBTQIA-plus community, and anyone who has been marginalized or discriminated against in terms of that process,” Gleason said. “This is one of those moments. We don’t always get them in life.”

Gendreau didn’t answer directly when asked for comment on the controversy, but she suggested she wasn’t done trying to change her community. “There’s a lot of undertones that need to get corrected,” she said.

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Outrage Over Taylor Swift Because Of Course…

For The Love Of God, Christian… Go To Your Gay Friend’s Wedding!

I disagree with the balding cue ball head.  😜😉😁🤣

OK I couldn’t resist, if you watch the video you will understand.  I do sometimes state the truth that those on the receiving end will not like being called.  I call racist, racist.  I call bigots and haters, well, what they are bigots and haters.  I do question the mental abilities of those that can not reason well or who support conspiracies over facts.  I call people who get their medical information from politicians and preachers rather than doctors and medical professional / medical scientist stupid.  Yup, and I don’t care it offends them.  Because I will start out trying to help someone, but as the lady said, “When they show you who they are, believe them the first time”.  So I do agree with the good Reverend some, maybe half way.  But sometimes you have to just lay the cards on the table, no matter what they show.    That said, if you have elderly parents or a spouse that is … highly opinionated about something, maybe then you do have to hold your tongue.  I would have to care a real lot to stay quiet though.   Hugs.  Scottie

John Fugelsang on Christianity, at Politicon

UT Lawmakers Pass Ban On College Diversity Programs

UT Lawmakers Pass Ban On College Diversity Programs

let’s be honest, what this is really about.  Racism, bigotry, and misogyny.  What do diversity programs do?  Diversity programs promote acceptance of non-white non-straight non-cis people in the workforce and work to open the work force to those people.  Yes it is so that work places become more accepting of those who are different from white straight cis men.  

Which means people against diversity and inclusion are simply trying to promote a white straight cis male only in schools, higher education, and the white collar workers in the US, which means upper level income management positions.   Notice these same people don’t seem to mind that the lower income labor positions are filled by the very people that the diversity inclusion programs are designed to lift up to better jobs and education.   Weird that.   Hugs.  Scottie

Quotes from the linked article.

Under the Utah bill, universities and government would not be allowed to have offices dedicated to promoting diversity. They also could not require employees to submit statements of commitment to DEI.

The chamber’s six Democrats voted against it. Among them was Sen. Luz Escamilla, who cited statistics showing much lower college enrollment rates for Native American, Hispanic and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students compared to white students.

The board that oversees Iowa’s public universities in November directed schools to eliminate staff positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. In December, the board overseeing Wisconsin’s university system agreed to shift dozens of DEI positions to instead focus on “student success” and freeze hiring for DEI staff in exchange for lawmakers releasing state funding for pay raises and campus construction projects.

Like last year, this year’s bills have a heavy focus on higher education. But Republicans also are sponsoring bills seeking to limit DEI in K-12 schools, state government, state contracting and pension investments. Some bills also would bar financial institutions from discriminating against those who refuse to participate in DEI programs.

January 27, 2024 Education, Republicans

 

NBC News reports:

Utah’s legislature became the latest in the U.S. to pass a bill Friday prohibiting diversity training, hiring and inclusion programs at universities and in state government. The bill that cleared the state House and Senate by wide margins now heads to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican who has said he is likely to sign such a bill into law.

I can assure you, after this legislative session, it will not be happening in the state of Utah, these diversity statements that you have to sign to get hired,” Cox said in a Dec. 20 news conference. Such initiatives are “awful, bordering on evil,” he added.

Under the Utah bill, universities and government would not be allowed to have offices dedicated to promoting diversity. Last year, Republican-led Florida and Texas were first to enact broad-based laws banning diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in higher education.

Read the full article.

 

zasket 8 days ago

Nice job working on the important things. Now. what are you going to do about school debt, wages, healthcare costs anx so on.

Karl Dubhe IV  zasket8 days ago

Lower the wages, and increase the debts. Negative wealth is still wealth!!111/s

J.Martindale8 days ago edited

Of course. Our principles demand conformity, inequity and exclusion of minorities. The party of the cis, White, Xtian male.

Eli Bradley 8 days ago

76.7% White only per the last census.

Republican lawmakers in Utah: We need to get that number UP!

Joseph Miceli 8 days ago

I just hate this.
Why is it “evil” to try to treat others like you would want to be treated? Why is it evil to try to open up our society to give others the same opportunities that were hoarded by white people since before the founding of this nation?
The “Golden Rule” of the Christianity they claim to follow is right in line with this, yet they call it “evil.”
I guess the only positive here is that they’ve stopped hiding their racism. Now we know just who the problem really is.

Wash Rinse Spin Dry Fold8 days ago

Two years ago right wing propagandists had to be crafty when pushing this agenda. They had to use terms like Critical Race Theory to make these programs seem evil. Now they don’t have to hide it anymore. They can openly challenge the ideas of diversity, equity and inclusion. They’ve convinced people that these ideas are the real racism. Their messaging has been extremely effective and now they are getting their laws passed. This is what fascism looks like.

Randy503  Wash Rinse Spin Dry Fold8 days ago

And soon DEI will mean anything other than straight white men. Everyone else will be expendable.

Friday’s_cat8 days ago

Biden should sign an executive order requiring colleges and universities applying for federal research grants have a diversity program in place.

KCMark  Friday’s_cat8 days ago

All colleges and universities receive federal FAFSA student grants. It would be reasonable

Jack Frost  KCMark8 days ago

This is something Biden could do, but not even a peep out of him or any Dem for that fact.

When our party leadership doesn’t even have a comment about these things, it signals to voters they don’t even care.

More red states will do this and still nothing from our side.

Anastasia Beaverhousen  Wintercat 8 days ago

“And I believe that in 1978 God changed his mind about black people!!” – then again, changed it back in 2024. – Book of Mormon, The Musical.

Todd20036 8 days ago

You know, in Germany before the camps were built, the government made it legal to discriminate against Jews

Now the red states are making it legal to discriminate against LBGTs

If they take over the government they will build camps, and guess who will be first in, but definitely not last

Dave B 8 days ago

CisHet white conservatives are terrified of losing their position of supremacy. They’ll do whatever they can to keep everyone else down to maintain the status quo.

Now imagine republicans in total control.

BearEyes  Dave B8 days ago

terrified of losing their privilege

kladinvt 8 days ago

So, does that mean ‘diversity’ in UT will consist of white Mormons who do or don’t wear glasses?

Card #ProChoice  kladinvt8 days ago

Utah diversity: do you have one sister-wife or four?

Karl Dubhe IV8 days ago

And the foreign students, who pay the most money, will go elsewhere. I hope the Utah students who are left to make up that money enjoy their larger student loans…

Nic Peterson8 days ago

The SLC Redevelopment Agency is a for profit business unit of City government. I have sat on the Advisory Panel for several years. DEI is mentioned in the charter and governing documents in mission statements and strategies. I don’t see this changing and there is very little that the legislature can do about it. The only way this city will grow and prosper is to make sure all of it grows and prospers. It means that investments in less well to do neighborhoods will create a path toward generational wealth, lift populations out of poverty and build a tax base.

I don’t understand how GOPers can’t understand that a rising tide raises all the ships in the harbor.

amy cuscuriae  Nic Peterson8 days ago

…a rising tide raises all the ships in the harbor.

It excludes the people who don’t have ships.

Nic Peterson  amy cuscuriae8 days ago

Which is why part of our strategy is to build some more boats. 😉

thatotherjean  Nic Peterson8 days ago

But they don’t WANT some of those ships to rise! They think they can figure out a way to raise their own, and leave selected others aground.

jamiel  Nic Peterson8 days ago

Religious monocultures enshrined in government are so attractive.

Nic Peterson  jamiel8 days ago

City government has been openly at odds with the LDS owned state legislature for decades. As the blue stain has grown, the faithful have become alarmed. They are losing their cherished Deseret to inbound migration and young people leaving the church. Only 42% of residents identify as LDS, the church would have you believe that number is over 70%. They lie to us but they also lie to themselves.

Nic Peterson  doninkansas 7 days ago

Millennials and Gen Z LDS seem to be following the same national pattern that other organized religions are facing. They are just doing it a bit later than their contemporaries. Much of this is due to family pressure and the complete isolation that happens when a young person leaves the church. Often they lose everything. That’s why we see more LDS youth breaking away in their mid 20s. Here’s a good piece from the SLC Trib. Enjoy.

https://www.sltrib.com/ampl…

danolgb8 days ago

They have also passed a bathroom bill for government buildings which will require trans people use the bathroom of the gender assigned at birth until “fully transitioned” and changed on ID.

How and who will police this is unknown. It sounds like a violation of people’s medical privacy on its face.

https://www.deseret.com/uta…

freehit 8 days ago

Yes, those diversity statements are evil. The nerve of being forced to act Christ-like. The horror of following the Golden Rule must be stomped out in the name of Murican Freedumb. Fucking Nazi trash.

 

Alabama Carries Out Nation’s First Nitrogen Execution, Witnesses Say Prisoner Writhed In Agony For Minutes

Alabama Carries Out Nation’s First Nitrogen Execution, Witnesses Say Prisoner Writhed In Agony For Minutes

is this what a civilized nation does?  Other advanced countries have done away with the death penalty.  It is proven not to be a deterrent for others committing crime, it is often carried out on the wrong people, and it is the state sanctioning murder done in the most painful way.   It is revenge and vengeance only.  Also, with so many overdose deaths, why not give him an overdose of fentanyl or morphine?   Too humane?   Hugs.  Scottie

`

January 26, 2024 Politics, Republicans

 

The Birmingham News reports:

Alabama Death Row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith on Thursday night became the first prisoner to die using a new untested method of execution in the United States—suffocation by nitrogen gas. The 58-year-old was executed at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. In announcing the execution had been carried out, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey stated: “I pray that Elizabeth Sennett’s family can receive closure after all these years dealing with that great loss.”

Smith and his spiritual advisor, the Rev. Jeff Hood, had issued this joint statement prior to the execution: “The eyes of the world are on this impending moral apocalypse. Our prayer is that people will not turn their heads. We simply cannot normalize the suffocation of each other.” Hood said he has witnessed five lethal injection executions over the past year or so. “Lethal injection is preferable every single day,” over nitrogen, he said. “What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for his life,” he said.

The Associated Press reports:

 


Officials said Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. at an Alabama prison after breathing pure nitrogen gas through a face mask to cause oxygen deprivation.

The execution took about 22 minutes from the time between the opening and closing of the curtains to the viewing room. Smith appeared to remain conscious for several minutes.

For at least two minutes, he appeared to shake and writhe on the gurney, sometimes pulling against the restraints. That was followed by several minutes of heavy breathing, until breathing was no longer perceptible.

 

 

Rebecca Gardner 9 days ago

Exactly the news I was expecting to hear. They suffocated him. Why not just come up behind him and put a plastic bag over his head.

The death penalty is archaic, barbaric, primitive, and grotesque.

The Pro-Life crowd sure does love killing the living.

Chris  Rebecca Gardner9 days ago

It’s the Republican way, silly boo…

Ščŏŧŧ Ċ – 🇺🇦 🕊  Rebecca Gardner9 days ago

The only way this could have taken 22 minutes is if they totally – deliberately? – botched it.

Longpole  Rebecca Gardner9 days ago

Too bad he wasn’t a fetus.

MargaretPOA 9 days ago

Because cruelty is the whole point

Phil in Colorado 9 days ago

What’s disturbing to me is that there are people out there who are not satisfied that he is being put to death. They also anticipate and crave his suffering.

Guestfornow  Phil in Colorado9 days ago

They did something wrong with the gas. It should just cause them to sleep and stop breathing.
This shouldn’t be allowed. Find a better way.

misterjack 9 days ago

How is this not “cruel and unusual punishment”?

Boreal9 days ago

GQP: We’re ‘Pro-Life’, as long as you’re a ZEF.

Boreal  Rebecca Gardner9 days ago edited

Zygote/embryo/fetus

Paula 9 days ago edited

They were bound and determined to kill him. This was extra cruel. DOn’t tell me they couldn’t find enough Fentanyl floating around Alabama to use instead. Just make him go to sleep. Probably too peaceful for them.
It’s like they wanted him to go through all of the extra suffering.