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Gangster

Killing Death Row: 4. Who Cares if it Hurts?

Gangster

BBC

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.81.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If a lethal injection death is considered to be painful, that could make it vulnerable to a legal challenge as unconstitutional. What can the death of Corey Johnson tell us about the pain of a lethal injection, and does proof of pain hold sway in any US court, or indeed in the court of public opinion? Livvy Haydock heads out on the road to talk to Texans., and deep into Death Row in the USA. While support for the Death Penalty in the US remains at over 50 per cent, there’s been a steady decline in the number of executions – from the modern era peak of 98 in 1999 to just 20 in 2023 so far. Only a handful of states actually carry out the killings. It’s even become more difficult for executioners to get hold of the drugs used in lethal injections, which is what led Livvy Haydock to a surreal story about a man in West London, who was supplying these drugs to state penitentiaries in the US, and on to the macabre world of Death Row – and the people who live, work, and die on it. Whether it’s the hunt for new lethal injection supplies, or the tip of the glasses that mark an executioner’s signal, Livvy goes right behind the scenes into the chamber itself to examine the pressures on the system that have left just 5 US states actively carrying out executions this year and around 2,400 Death Row prisoners in limbo. We’ll hear from an inmate waiting to die, and one saved at the last moment. We’ll chat to the wardens who make it happen, and the campaigners who want to stop it. And throughout, we’ll discover the possible future for Death Row in the only western democracy still carrying out capital punishment. New episodes released weekly. If you’re in the UK, listen to Gangster Presents… Killing Death Row first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/40W5Chz Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series producer: Anna Meisel Sounds design and mix: Richard Hannaford Editor: Clare Fordham Production coordinator: Janet Staples

Transcript

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0:00.0

Newscast is the unscripted chat behind the headlines.

0:05.6

It's informed, but informal.

0:07.6

We pick the day's top stories and we find experts who can really dig into them.

0:12.4

We use our colleagues in the newsroom and

0:14.4

our contacts. Some people pick up the phone rather faster than others.

0:18.0

We sometimes literally run around the BBC building to grab the very best guests.

0:23.4

Join us for daily news chats to get you ready for today's conversations.

0:28.3

Newscast, listen on BBC Sounds. B. C Sounds, Music Radio Podcasts.

0:37.0

The Government is Railroad My Son.

0:41.0

Screaming, the government has railroaded her son, Richard Tipton's mother walks away from the federal courthouse.

0:47.0

Tipton, James,

0:48.0

It's the 90s, and Richard Tipton and Cori Johnson, a part of a gang found guilty of a drug-fueled killing spree that rocked Indiana.

0:57.0

The fact that there are 11 dead bodies that they've left on the streets of the city.

1:00.0

Killer Cori Johnson is important to our story because we're exploring the future of death row.

1:07.0

In episode one we looked at how it became difficult because there were no lethal injection

1:14.3

suppliers, but the authorities got around that.

1:18.0

Everything you did was in secrecy. I mean it was like dealing with a dog dealer.

1:23.0

In the last episode we peered inside the chamber to show you how a death is supposed to go.

1:29.0

Supporters would say it's nice and smooth, dignified, no complaints.

1:34.7

It seemed to work beautifully, so they all died.

1:39.1

Nobody complained.

1:41.2

That death needs to strike a balance between the victims families need for justice

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