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Condemned inmate Brian Dorsey could face surgery without anaesthesia if vein is elusive (www.nzherald.co.nz)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Execution protocol in the US state of Missouri allows for “surgery without anaesthesia” if the typical process of finding a suitable vein to inject the lethal drug doesn’t work, lawyers for a death row inmate say in an appeal aimed at sparing his life.

Brian Dorsey, 52, is scheduled for execution on Tuesday for killing his cousin and her husband at their central Missouri home in 2006. His attorneys are seeking clemency from Gov. Mike Parson and have several appeals pending.

A federal court appeal focuses on how Missouri injects the fatal dose of pentobarbital. The written protocol calls for the insertion of primary and secondary intravenous lines. But it offers no guidance on how far the execution team can go to find a suitable vein, leaving open the possibility of an invasive “cutdown procedure,” Dorsey’s attorneys say.

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[–] NateNate60 4 points 7 months ago (3 children)

My opinion regarding the death penalty is that if it needs it exist, then the guillotine is probably the best way to carry it out. It's 100% effective, requires little skill on the executioner's part to use, and causes death extremely quickly with minimal suffering.

Taking someone's life is inherently violent, and it is cowardice to try to hide that fact. People claim that capital punishment exists to scare people into following the law. Well, what's more terrifying than a guillotine?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (2 children)

And how is the US doing with scaring people into not murdering by having capital punishment?

[–] Diplomjodler3 2 points 7 months ago

Great. Just great.

[–] NateNate60 0 points 7 months ago

Terribly! But if people can't be convinced to abolish it, the next best thing is to do this.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

@NateNate60 I'd rather the few countries that still have it abolished it, but I agree that if they're going to have it, it should be more humane than this.

From the article:

The procedure involves an incision that could be several inches wide and several inches deep. Forceps are used to tear tissue away from a vein that becomes the injection point. “It’s surgery,” said Arin Brenner, a federal public defender and one of the attorneys representing Dorsey. “It would be surgery without anaesthesia.”

[–] NateNate60 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I did read the article. Dear God, just shoot the man. Have some mercy

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Agreed, that would be more humane than this. It's not one of the states that allows firing squads though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

reading that made me physically ill

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Why guillotine and not some sort of gas like nitrogen or carbon monoxide?

[–] NateNate60 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The primary argument for why capital punishment is kept around in the US is to terrify people into not committing crimes.

The guillotine is a classic terrifying death machine while still being more humane than other, more modern techniques. It's also difficult to fuck up and cheap to administer.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

That would be a stupid argument because it's not true. It doesn't work that way. Why should decisions about the methods be based on falsehoods?