The Real USA, hosted by Alexandra Hall, takes a look at the stories not making headlines in the US commercial press. Two decades ago 80% of the people in the United States favored the death penalty, while today only 55% agree. Execution methods may vary. In 32 states where the death penalty is legal, the most common method is lethal injection. Yet in the last 4 months, this method had failed 3 times, resulting in prolonged agony for the prisoner. Moreover, the drugs used in lethal injections are difficult to obtain and seldom approved by the Federal Drug Administration. In addition to the problems involved in lethal injections, death penalty opponents cite the frequent execution of innocent people or excessively long prison terms during appeal processes. teleSUR
