By Dena Potter
JARRATT
A killer who unsuccessfully argued that Virginia's procedures for lethal injection were unconstitutional has been executed after a federal appeals court rejected his claims.
Christopher Scott Emmett, 36, was pronounced dead at 9:07 p.m. Thursday. Gov. Tim Kaine declined to intervene in the execution.
Emmett's final words were, "Tell my family and friends I love them, tell the governor he just lost my vote. Y'all hurry this along, I'm dying to get out of here."
Earlier this month, a divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Emmett's argument that Virginia's use of lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment because of the possibility that paralyzing and heart-stopping drugs could be administered before inmates are rendered unconscious by another drug.
Emmett's lawyers asked the full court to hear his appeal, but justices voted 6-4 against taking up the issue.
Emmett's challenge was the first to require a federal appeals court to interpret a U.S. Supreme Court decision in April that upheld Kentucky's method of lethal injection and apply it to another state's procedures.
The 4th Circuit panel found that Virginia's protocol for delivering the three-drug lethal cocktail was similar enough to Kentucky's that it would not cause inmates excruciating pain.
Unlike Kentucky, Virginia does not allow for a second dose of sodium thiopental, which results in a deep, coma-like unconsciousness, even when a second round of the other drugs is required. Virginia also administers the three drugs more quickly than Kentucky corrections officials.
In 10 of the 70 lethal injections performed in Virginia before this year, a second dose of the last two drugs was given because the inmate did not die within a few minutes after the heart-stopping drug was administered, according to court papers.
Although most inmates are pronounced dead within five minutes after the first drug is administered, the last two inmates executed in Virginia took approximately 10 minutes and 15 minutes to die, respectively. Department of Corrections officials will not confirm whether a second dose of drugs was given to those men.
Kaine stopped Emmett's execution in June 2007 so the U.S. Supreme Court would have time to consider his appeal, which it later rejected. Then in October, Emmett's execution was one of dozens halted by the Supreme Court while it considered the Kentucky lethal injection challenge.
Emmett, 36, and John Fenton Langley were sharing a room in a Danville motel in April of 2001 as part of an out-of-town roofing crew. On the night Langley was killed, he bought food and grilled for Emmett and other co-workers. They then played cards at the motel. Later as Langley slept, Emmett beat him to death with a brass lamp so he could steal Langley's wallet to buy crack cocaine
"My brother died a horrible, horrible death," said Gene Langley, 48, of Rocky Mount, N.C. "Christopher, he was a coward. ... He needs to be punished."
Gene Langley and six other family members, including John Langley's adult daughter and son, plan to witness Emmett's execution.
"It's not going to bring my brother back by no means in this world, but it does not allow him to live and that's what I'm after," Gene Langley said.
"He didn't kill one person, he killed five — he killed a brother, he killed a son, he killed an uncle, he killed a father, and he killed a grandfather," he said.
Emmett met with immediate family members this morning, Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor said.
Staff writer Stephanie Lee contributed to this report.
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see ya bye
the idiots final words included that the gov was looseing his vote. i dont know what the voteing rules pretainig to felons is like in hell but if he used his time on death row to keep up with current laws in va he would have realized that he( the gov)had already lost his vote in va. well at least you got to leave prison in a new model caddie
Boo Whoo.
He killed a person, now he gets his just desserts.
history channel is though.
history channel is though. That is pretty cool, we should bring back the guillotine, use it on the suspect, after his head is off ask if he is now sorry for what he had done.
Etik
Wikipedia is not a reliable source. Anybody at anytime with any agenda can update that site.
OPPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY
The government should not be trusted to carry out the death penalty.
What if...
"Killing a killer is so great, it makes you one of them!
Good job USA, good to see that we are truly a civilized nation!"
What if someone was raping or killing your daughter? Would you kill them? I would.
It's your DUTY to protect them.
Oh you would? Then by your standards you too are uncivilized.
If not you contributed to a crime by gross or depraved indifference.
My Experince and Thoughts
My husband was murderd tow years ago. He was beat in the head with a baseball bat in Gulfport Missippi.His assailant was arrested that night. My huaband lived on machines for two days. He was forty one years old. The trial was one year later. In Missippi the Death Penalty states only in a commission of a crime. I think being hit in the head repeatedly is assault is a crime. He was sentenced to life in prison with a possibilty of parole at age of 65. Is that justice? I DON'T KNOW!
re: contractorva
Thanks for the info on changing the time! I'd forgotten about that feature.
Still, since I remember signing up here back during Standard Time (GMT minus 5 hours), I don't think I should have to change time when the clocks change.
757 Vorticism
When an animal goes rabid, you put it down.
If you want this waste of skin to live, I suggest you support him personally...
Blood Thirsty! YAY!
Killing a killer is so great, it makes you one of them!
Good job USA, good to see that we are truly a civilized nation!
Nexy
next
WHAT IF...
What if the person was conscious but refused to cooperate with the instructions?
It's my simple belief that
It's my simple belief that the death penalty should be used for punishment purposes, and although we all might want to see this man suffer for what he has done, the purpose is not for suffering but for killing him for his actions. I do agree that people on death row need to be executed quicker instead of being fed every day on our taxpaying money, but the system is in place to correct any errors. Because of the new technology such as DNA evidence, it's important to get it right the first time and to not execute innocent people. For that reason, I don't mind them staying on death row until we know for sure that they are guilty.
Source
Thanks for citing the source. I remembered hearing or reading about it but couldn't remember where. It was the history channel program.
Citation for those demanding it...
History Channel did a series on execution devices and the Guillotine was one of them. Prior to it being repealed as a method of execution in France arrangements were made with the condemmed with specific instructions to verify if they were still conscious. Such as if asked if they were still consious and feeling pain they were to blink a certain number of times. This was done as a way to avoid the "Twitching" effect that you speak of...
So if a man's head was pulled from the basket and was asked to blink 3 times to verify he understood instructions the head would blink three times. Next head would be asked to blink 4 times. If he blinked 4 times then he understood the instructions...
Video is for sale at the HistoryChannel.com...
Elvis has left the building..
Re Norml...Time discrepancy
Click on edit profile. You can adjust time at the bottom.
cocky til the end
One less, good. Now, time to do like this cocky one said, lets hurry this process up, kill the rest waiting. I mean he has only still been alive since 2001, so figure out how to speed this up, like the coward said.
Maybe,
Just maybe we can finally have some "closure" on all this Mickey Mouse legal challenging of the constitutionality of lethal injection. Then we can start executing these people within 10 YEARS of their crime and stop wasting tax money supporting these monsters. There should be a fast track for those convicted of a capital crime!
last words of Christopher Emmett
Final Statement:"Tell my family and friends I love them, tell the governor he just lost my vote. Y'all hurry this along, I'm dying to get out of here."
I find it to be very
I find it to be very hipocritical that these convicted killers, who showed no mercy to their victims and no regard for the law, hide behind said law when their lives are in jeopardy. The case for lethal injection being cruel and unusual was put to rest a few weeks ago. The Constitution does not protect one from feeling any pain. Lethal injection is not cruel. It seems to be the most humain way of carrying out an execution. Tying the offender in a sack with a wild animal and throwing it in the river, now that's cruel. Lethal injection also is not unusual. It't been done hundreds of time in the U.S and would seem to be quite the norm. It's time to stop these useless appeals on the same grounds that have already been ruled on. Unless these offenders can produce some new evidence that proves their innocence lets speed up the process and rid ourselves of these killers. It seems that by the time sentence is carr