[Phantom Hoover]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/30/clayton-lockett-oklahoma-execution-witness

As if capital punishment wasn't already enough of a shambles.

[Dragon]

TBH, lethal injection is, in general, a rather inhumane way of executing people, exactly because things like that happen. I don't know why they still use this. A competent firing squad or even a good ol' hanging is much quicker and harder to mess up than lethal injection. Oh, and "gruesome" beheading with a guillotine might in fact be even quicker and less painful than those two. I only remember one case (Luis XVI of France) in which it didn't kill in one go.

[The E]

The death sentence is a barbaric and inhumane punishment that is proven to be ineffective.

[Phantom Hoover]

And the US's obsession with making it look civilised and medical has made it even less humane, and has cost them access to vital medical supplies because they can't be trusted to obey the ****ing Hippocratic oath. It's appalling; at least people like Dragon are willing to accord some weight to the grotesque ugliness of purposefully killing another human being rather than sweep it under the rug.

[Aardwolf]

@The E: It may not be an effective deterrent, but it's effective at getting rid of them.

[Phantom Hoover]

It's not, though. The appeals process and associated legal theatre (I'd like to pretend it made the system fairer) makes it significantly more expensive to execute someone than to simply imprison them for life.

[Rodo]

Getting rid of them is not that helpful either.
Damage has already been done by the time the sentence is applied, and only serves to quell personal grudges.

[The E]

@The E: It may not be an effective deterrent, but it's effective at getting rid of them.

No, it's not. It's really, really not. Killing the odd murderer does not solve the problem of criminals murdering civilians or each other.

[Scotty]

Getting rid of them is not that helpful either.
Damage has already been done by the time the sentence is applied, and only serves to quell personal grudges.

Ideally it would be cheaper than incarcerating such an inmate for the rest of his/her natural life, which could be a significant drain on penal resources.

As is, it's ridiculous.  I'm still in favor of the concept on rare occasions, but the execution is appalling.

[Colonol Dekker]

Thomas Ketchum, 37
Execution: 26 April 1901

State: New Mexico

Method: Hanging

What happened: Because executioners had too much rope and built the gallows too tall, Ketchum fell with such force that “His head was severed from the body by the rope as if by a guilllotine,” as the San Francisco Chronicle told it at the time. “The headless trunk pitched forward toward the spectators and blood spurted upon those nearest the scaffold.”

Win!!

Anniversary of my birthday btw.

[Aardwolf]

@The E: It may not be an effective deterrent, but it's effective at getting rid of them.

<disagreement>

them = the person being executed

[Phantom Hoover]

i'm honestly confused, what are you trying to say

[Aardwolf]

It was a statement of the obvious.

For example: executing Bob is an effective way of getting rid of Bob. Substitute any name.

[Nuke]

too bad the baby raper that was supposed to go on after him didnt get the same treatment.

we should go back to hangings.

[Grizzly]

It was a statement of the obvious.

For example: executing Bob is an effective way of getting rid of Bob. Substitute any name.

Wouldn't Bob take heavier measures to prevent being caught if he strongly suspected his life was forfeit?

[Black Wolf]

I'm pretty strongly opposed to the death penalty generally, but the way the US does it just seems... well, baffling. There are so many ways to painlessly kill people. Why not put them under sugical style general anaesthetic and then OD them with morphine or something? Or suffocate with CO2 the way we humanely kill lab animals for dissection? Why mess around with conscious prisoners at all if you're going to kill them? Bizarre.

[Lorric]

I'm pretty strongly opposed to the death penalty generally, but the way the US does it just seems... well, baffling. There are so many ways to painlessly kill people. Why not put them under sugical style general anaesthetic and then OD them with morphine or something? Or suffocate with CO2 the way we humanely kill lab animals for dissection? Why mess around with conscious prisoners at all if you're going to kill them? Bizarre.

This thread's been something of a revelation for me, I always thought the lethal injection was a swift, clean and painless procedure. So now I'm just completely baffled that it isn't, like you. It doesn't make sense that it isn't.

[Nuke]

the whole prison system is a mess. its also way down at the bottom of our priorities, so its the thing that gets neglected. in a us prison, you will be raped, murdered, forced to join a gang, used for slave labor, denied treatment for mental illnesses, abused by guards, executed (sometimes with horrible results) and the whole system is rigged so that if you actually get out of jail, its very easy to go back to jail. its also very easy to go to jail in the first place, stupid **** like drug abuse and skipping school or being drunk in public.

[Ghostavo]

Just out of curiosity, anyone know what is Oklahoma's (and other states that practice capital punishment) view on euthanasia?

[Nuke]

i dont think euthanasia is legal anywhere in the us. remember this guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_Kevorkian

yea things didnt end to well for him.