In Florida, convicted killer Angel Nieves Diaz was put to death by lethal injection last Wednesday. In Florida’s prison system, before being executed, prisoners are given a last meal of anything they desire and the option to talk with a priest, minister or rabbi. Execution is done by lethal injection of three drugs designed to deaden pain, paralyze the body, and cause a fatal heart attack.

Diaz’s death didn’t go quite according to plan and he probably suffered a bit during his final minutes of life. For that, the governor of Florida has suspended future executions for an indefinite period of time. Doctors have said that Diaz’s death was probably “painful.”

And just how painful was the death of Diaz’s victim? Just how painful has the memory of that death been for the victim’s surviving family? Why do we owe convicted killers a “painless” death? Execution follows years of legalities and countless dollars expended. All the while, victims’ families wait for closure.

Our legal system appears to be lop-sized, protecting the guilty and ignoring the rights of the victim.