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Choosing death penalty by firing squad because it's safer
- nadermx 2y agoReading this makes me wonder, should a man who plead guilty be executed?
- comrade1234 2y agoShould anyone be executed? Should the state have the power to kill its own citizens, outside of war? It’s repugnant and a sign of a sick society.
- frankzander 2y agoShould humans kill each other?
- fallous 2y ago[flagged]
- adrianN 2y agoYou can prevent people from committing further violence by keeping them in a secure facility for the remainder of their days.
- lloeki 2y agoIt seems to me the parent comment you respond to refers to handling of an actively developing "immediate danger to the public" situation by law enforcement, where judgement calls have to be made, sometimes ones of lethal consequence. ... but that's an entirely different debate from death penalty after facts have occurred.
- defrost 2y agoIt's interesting seeing police around the world handling such things: HELSINKI (AP) — A man stabbed eight people Friday in Finland’s western city of Turku, killing two of them, before police shot him in the thigh and detained him, police said. Authorities were looking for more potential suspects in the attack. ~ https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/several-wounded-in-finland-stabbing-suspect-shot-in-the-leg/ https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/several-wounded-in... I've seen many examples of police engaging with firearms in the US that are eye watering .. eg: police firing across an intersection with moving traffic into a darkened mall | storefront that active shooters retreated into .. so, no clear line of sight, chance of hitting car that crosses fire line, chance of hitting innocents deeper in store, etc.
- johnisgood 2y agoI have seen PoliceActivity videos and such, it is indeed crazy what is going on in the US wrt. shootings (from cops and others alike). Or calling the cops on your family member because they are in psychosis or what have you, and they end up killing a member of your family. I do not think I would ever call the cops in the US to deal with such cases.
- genewitch 2y agoWe have a saying in this house. There is no situation so bad that it cannot be made worse by calling the police.
- johnisgood 2y agoPretty much!
- timeon 2y agoFew days ago I saw on Reddit police video where officer shot guy who resisted arrest. Redditors were applauding to officer, probably because it was Jan 6 insurrectionist but still I was in shock. Yes the officer could have been in danger but this would hardly happen in my country. Police officers are not nice here but they do not expect most people could have gun. So they do not execute people escaping the arrest. I find it insane how casual were Americans about that.
- rex_lupi 2y agoFunded by taxpayer's money [including from victims], medical bills included
- agsnu 2y agoMany countries find that imprisonment is an effective remedy.
- defrost 2y agoLife imprisonment without parole when it's over a threshold of violence. Neo-Nazi Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011, has lost his case against the state in a bid to end his years of isolation in prison. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68310127 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68310127
- lIl-IIIl 2y agoThis is the guy who complained that his prison-issued PlayStation 2 gaming console is too old.
- stavros 2y agoIt's kind of surprising to me that a lawyer would defend him, but I guess many people see it as even serial killers deserving defense.
- genewitch 2y agoI've heard it said that the defense lawyers job is to make sure that the court does their job and the prosecution does their job and the police did their job. They may know that the person is going to be sentenced to death, but they still need to make sure that the state does everything right because that's the only ethical thing to do.
- novaomnidev 2y agoI don’t know, maybe literally any other way?
- unpopularidea35 2y ago[dead]
- timeon 2y agoHow is it done in most of the world? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment#/media/File:Capital_punishment_in_the_world.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment#/media/File...
- mkoubaa 2y agoYes. I am for public and prominent capital punishment of heinous crimes. Bernie Madoff should have hung on Wall Street. Dylan Roof should have hung in front of the state capital building. It is not repugnant, it is a signal of what behavior will and will not be tolerated. We don't have to live in a society with rampant crime. We choose it.
- genewitch 2y agoHow many innocent people is it okay to put to death? You'll note that I'm not saying that either of the examples that you gave are innocent people, but innocent people are put to death, so: how many? This isn't a trick question. It's not okay to say, well, ideally there should be none. I'm asking right now since you think we should be hanging people in the public square. The death penalty necessarily means in our imperfect information world that innocent people will be put to death. So there's no bright line for anything that we can point to and say that's how you do it. It is also not okay to say that they exhausted all avenues of the justice system available to them and unfortunately it didn't work and them's the breaks kid. So how many innocent people is it okay to put to death?
- devsda 2y ago> The death penalty necessarily means in our imperfect information world that innocent people will be put to death. Unfortunately, the governments and law enforcement community's answer to this problem will not be "may be we need to reconsider our laws". It will most likely be "then let's make sure we have more information to determine the truth i.e. more surveillance".
- genewitch 2y agoI know, were that it weren't necessary. Adam Carolla said there should be a way to make a lie detector where if you fail it 3 times or 10 times or whatever, that's it, jail. I just pulled a sample from my transcripts, from 2003: https://nextcloud.projectftm.com/index.php/s/CarollaLieDetectors1 https://nextcloud.projectftm.com/index.php/s/CarollaLieDetec...
- porridgeraisin 2y ago> it's repugnant and a sign of a sick society So, the one we all live in (and have always lived in)
- impossiblefork 2y agoThe entire Council of Europe, i.e., until also recently including also Russia, have agreed to abolish the death penalty during peacetime, with this being mostly implemented in practice.
- johnisgood 2y agoAnd then add euthanasia to the mix. I think euthanasia should be legal. It comes from my own battles with MS and my immobility issues. If I get paralyzed, I would rather choose euthanasia, personally.
- moffkalast 2y agoIt's certainly a weird world where we kill those who want to stay alive, and find every excuse to stop those who want to die from doing so.
- ofalkaed 2y ago>Should the state have the power to kill its own citizens, outside of war? States killing 18 year olds who got drafted and never did a thing wrong in their short lives is more acceptable than states killing serial killers?
- stavros 2y ago> States killing 18 year olds who got drafted and never did a thing wrong You're right, I can't believe we never thought about just not drafting anyone!
- ofalkaed 2y agoWe think about that all the time but drafts will be a fact of life as long as war exists and many countries have compulsory service. Even in the case of the volunteer, it is OK for a state to kill a solider who volunteered but not a serial killer?
- stavros 2y agoYes, because of two reasons: 1. The state isn't sending the soldier to die, it's sending them to fight. They may die, but dying isn't the purpose. The state would very much prefer them to not die, in fact. 2. Nothing bad happens if we just don't kill the serial killer.
- ofalkaed 2y agoThe "state" does not have a preference, states are conflicted by nature. Probably would not take much effort to find examples of serial killers who were not killed doing something bad, killing another inmate, killing a guard, getting out on a technicality, etc, etc, etc. Yes, if we lived in a utopia things would be perfect and you would not be ignoring the point.
- pydry 2y agoStates exhibit preferences all the time. It'd also true that states are often conflicted but so are people. This isnt about utopianism at all.
- snapplebobapple 2y agoThat is incorrect. The right answer is absolutely if there is no uncertainty and then realizing there has never been a murder in all recorded history where the standard of no uncertainty is met to the level required on the timeline it takes to convict someone and to ban it.
- lfsh 2y ago'Pleaing guilt' means 'taking the blame'. It is not a proof of guilt. So the answer to your question should be: no.
- m2f2 2y agoIn general, when will the US stop considering acceptable that... you cannot lie to the police, but the police can lie to you? When will everyone believe that making someone take the blame in exchange for a shorter time in jail is beneficial to society at large... when the real perpetrator walks away unscathed, and a innocent is jailed for something he didn't even commit?
- aqueueaqueue 2y agoI'd say the main thing is police should show how all leads have been followed, the investigation followed a logical and evidence based approach and all evidence handed to defence.
- foldr 2y agoYou can lie to the police, no? It is not a crime per se.
- genewitch 2y agoIn, like, an interview situation, no, you won't get an additional charge. I am not a lawyer but. It is a crime to lie to federal agents, specifically the FBI. I'm not sure about the rest. And if you do light of the police, it'll be held against you. But even if you don't lie to the police, it'll be held against you. So, you know, just don't say anything. Except "lawyer, please."
- aqueueaqueue 2y agoPleading guilty has nothing to do with remorse or repentance. It's a legal thing. It is a strategic choice.
- foogazi 2y agoWhat do executions have to do with remorse or repentance?
- devsda 2y ago> It is a strategic choice. If a person did not commit a crime and if their strategic best choice is pleading guilty for the crime that has x% probability of receiving death penalty, it says something about the whole process.
- aqueueaqueue 2y agoYes that scenario sucks. Death penalty itself should be trial only with a super high standard of evidence. I think I am against it in general. I am undecided.
- littlestymaar 2y agoWhat's up with the title's editorialization? The original title is “South Carolina executes convicted murderer by firing squad”
- andai 2y ago...by his choice, which is the really interesting part.
- forthac 2y agoThey gave him three options though and chose this out of fear that the other methods would essentially torture him. The only humane form of execution (if there is such a thing) is nitrogen asphyxiation, with the long drop being second in my opinion.
- manarth 2y ago> "The only humane form of execution…is nitrogen asphyxiation" Alabama executed a man with nitrogen in January 2025. > "Despite state claims that it would be a painless death, witnesses reported Mr. Smith shook, convulsed, writhed, and gasped for minutes until he was pronounced dead at least 22 minutes after the execution began, though just how long it took is unknown since Alabama closed the execution curtain before the official time of death." https://www.aclu.org/news/capital-punishment/alabama-has-executed-a-man-with-nitrogen-gas-despite-jurys-life-verdict https://www.aclu.org/news/capital-punishment/alabama-has-exe...
- littlestymaar 2y ago> The only humane form of execution (if there is such a thing) is nitrogen asphyxiation, It was the original argument for the guillotine (which have been in use in France until the abolition of death penalty), but it didn't account for malfunctions which could get very dirty very fast …
- bigs 2y ago…does he think it’s “safer”?
- timeflex 2y agoSafer is a bit of a misnomer here. Nothing is safe about being executed. If your goal is to die as quick & painless as possible, then let's poll those that have been executed... oh wait, we can't. Statistically, there has been a lot less failed executions from firing squads, but is it cause it is more predictable, or because there have been issues obtaining drugs for lethal injection, lack of medical professionals willing to assist, lack of training, etc. Are there vast differences in statistics, even among the states that have death penalties? If so, then isn't saying it is "safer" overly broad, when in fact it depends which states you're referring to?
- 000ooo000 2y agoDidn't read the article did you
- timeflex 2y agoYes, but the title doesn't match and is clickbait.
- tomatocracy 2y ago> issues obtaining drugs for lethal injection, lack of medical professionals willing to assist, lack of training, etc I would say these all extremely relevant factors that you would want to take into account in assessing "safety".
- nic547 2y agoWe know even in a "not botched" lethal injection with the usual cocktail the sedation is often not effective and the paralyzing agent is only useful to hide that fact the sedation isn't working (and even counteracts the sedation).