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Leaving aside the moral question of the death penalty, the use of lethal injection seems insane to me. Why don't they just use nitrogen suffocation?
by aketchum 6y ago
Leaving aside the moral question of the death penalty, the use of lethal injection seems insane to me. Why don't they just use nitrogen suffocation?
- john_alan 6y agoOr carbon monoxide?
- gambiting 6y agoOr you know, literally, just a gun to the head. Out of all possible execution methods that were tried in the last century, the lethal injection seems to be one of the most horrific ones, possibly beaten by the electric chair.
- wl 6y agoLethal injection designed and administered by a competent anesthesiologist who had a goal of making the process as painless and peaceful as possible seems like one of the better ways to die. It was a good idea in principle. But in practice, the nonsensical protocols designed by non-experts who don't care about the experience being pleasant and administered by incompetents hasn't gone well.
- marcinzm 6y agoI suspect there's very few competent anesthesiologist who would be willing to do lethal injections. Even if they believe in the death penalty the risk to their careers seems not worth the non-existent reward.
- curryst 6y agoMany doctors believe participating in executions is a violation of the Hippocratic Oath. I suspect that you're right. > Even if they believe in the death penalty the risk to their careers seems not worth the non-existent reward. I would presume they pay fairly handsomely, if there are few doctors willing to participate. Even if they payed them $10,000 to do it, there aren't enough executions a year for it to dent the budget. I wonder if that info is public.
- wl 6y agoThe median anesthesiologist in the US earns a little under $400,000/yr. $10,000 is probably not enough to get one risk their career to carry out an execution.
- michaelt 6y agoPlenty of people have survived execution by gunshot - especially in wartime, when shooting prisoners is commonplace. See for example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenceslao_Moguel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenceslao_Moguel and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerigo_Dumini https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerigo_Dumini
- willbudd 6y agoI think certain French revolutionaries found a more clear-cut solution a long time ago. (Personally, I find the death sentence in any form barbaric, given how it nullifies any form of recourse in cases of wrongful conviction. It might however be an agreeable option to offer "voluntary execution" of some form: allow inmates convicted for life an alternative to using bedsheets in ways they weren't intended for. What a depressing topic, this.)
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoWhy the electric chair? My father was accidentally electrocuted (and fortunately survived). He says that he felt nothing.
- TylerE 6y agoAccidental electrocutions are brief. In the chair you are looking at a minimum of about 90 seconds of agony, which some taking in excess of 10 minutes.
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoMy father lost consciousness immediately. So how is it agony?
- m-p-3 6y agoCarbon monoxide is an awful way to die, as it triggers the hypercapnic alarm response. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercapnic_alarm_response https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercapnic_alarm_response Inert gas asphyxiation would be a more "humane" way https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inert_gas_asphyxiation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inert_gas_asphyxiation
- nick__m 6y agoYou confuse CO with CO2, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning....
- hansthehorse 6y agoAs someone who came very close to dying when a refrigerant relief valve on an industrial AC unit lifted in an enclosed space I can attest that it is a very peaceful and painless way to go.
- nick__m 6y agoNot that I agree with the practice but the people pro death are also pro retribution; to them the suffering is a feature :/
- generalizations 6y agoIf you want to make that generalization, you should have some good sources to back it up. Do you have some stats saying that e.g. 99% of pro-death-penalty people want the accused to "suffer"? Otherwise you're just throwing shade on people you disagree with, and that doesn't make you look good.
- bloqs 6y agoI would say this is one of those very rare examples where sufficient social activity suffices where a study is absent. I have not met a single human being who believes in execution but only humanely. I have met in excess of 50 people who simply conflate suffering and death and simplify the justification
- generalizations 6y agoYou're relying on anecdotes, and the reliability of anecdotes isn't increased just because the subject matter is harder to get good information on. > I have not met a single human being who believes in execution but only humanely. I have met in excess of 50 people who simply conflate suffering and death and simplify the justification The very best this statement can say is that inside your bubble, this is how your memory represents the aggregate opinions you've encountered w.r.t. the death penalty.
- crowf 6y agoHey, nice to meet you. I believe there are crimes where a death penalty is warranted, but only humanely. AMA?
- codezero 6y agoI also believe that there are crimes where a death penalty is warranted, but I also do not believe it should be executed because I do not believe any organized entity exists that could follow through on those penalties without being provably uncorrupt or infallible, and therefor it should not be considered an option in any civilized community.
- FDSGSG 6y agoPR concerns, they're worried about being compared to the Nazis if they use gases for executions.
- mcherm 6y agoBecause there are existing court rulings declaring that lethal injection (with a particular cocktail of drugs) is not considered cruel and unusual punishment. If any other method were tried the accused would appeal on the grounds that the method was excessively cruel and the court process would take many years to complete.
- BitwiseFool 6y agoOpioid overdose?
- juancn 6y agoJust use anesthesia before the execution. If they can do surgery on you without even a passing sense of time, why not use it in this case?