I think Mike and I are on the same page. Probably what I object...

I think Mike and I are on the same page. Probably what I object to most is the "Cruel and unusual" element of punishment these two have been subjected to. Keeping someone on death row for 8 - 10 years and then tormenting them and their families to this torturous on again, off again wait for the finale is truly gross. China is barbaric re the death penalty but at least it is carried out swiftly there.

Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to it.
There are generally tests that can serve as a guide to what cruel and unusual punishment is according to various legal textbooks in accordance with the law. These are: 1) the frequency at which the punishment occurs in society, 2) overall acceptance in society, 3) severity (i.e., the punishment fits the crime), and 4) if the punishment is arbitrary.
History[edit]
These exact words were first used in the English Bill of Rights 1689 and later were also adopted by theEighth Amendment to the United States Constitution (ratified 1791) and British Leeward Islands' Slavery Amelioration Act (1798). Very similar words, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", appear in Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsadopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. The right under a different formulation is also found in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) and in Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966). The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) also contains this fundamental right in section 12 and it is to be found again in Article 4 (quoting the European Convention verbatim) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union(2000). It is also found in Article 16 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984), and in Article 40 of the Constitution of Poland (1997).[1] The Constitution of the Marshall Islands, in the sixth section of its Bill of Rights (Article 2), prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment", which it defines as: the death penalty; torture; "inhuman and degrading treatment"; and "excessive fines or deprivations".[2]