Charles Laverne Singleton is a prisoner of Arkansas who was forced to take antipsychotic drugs in order for him to be executed properly due to his insanity. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals believes it is a significant way to unwind his insanity. However, there is an issue that has been presented regarding the intake of this medication. “Medicine is supposed to heal people, not to prepare them for execution. A law that asks doctors to make people well so that the government can kill them is an absurd law," said David Kaczynski who is the director of New Yorkers against the Death Penalty.
Medication/drugs can be misused to create a sense of pleasure to a being and it can also be used for health. The argument regarding the situation above argues that medicine is only supposed to help and heal people. For the most part, this quote is true. However, what needs to be done must be done and done properly. Using this medication on Charles created a sense of safety for his surroundings and did help people. This was the only way to allow Charles to follow through with his execution safely. Charles committed a crime and is now facing the consequences.
It was on June 1, 1979 in a grocery store where the crime scene occurred. Mary Lou York, the victim of the crime scene, was murdered by Charles resulting in two stabbed wounds and a copious loss of blood.
For the man that Charles was, he deserved what was coming to him. Whether he took the medication or whether he didn’t, he was still a death row prisoner. He was considered legally sane only when taking the medication, schizophrenia. Charles was executed on January 6 of 2004.