this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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[–] Nobody 163 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

A fallible state institution that has made many documented mistakes in the past is still given the power to murder prisoners who are in its custody and under its protection. It’s barbarous.

America is hellbent on the concept of punishing criminals over rehabilitation while also having an objectively unfair justice system. The cruelty is the point sometimes, and it’s very unfortunate that people still think this way.

[–] BackOnMyBS 32 points 9 months ago

Thank you for stating the truth. I live in USA, and it hurts.

[–] [email protected] 77 points 9 months ago (3 children)
[–] CaptainSpaceman 35 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

I dont support the death penalty in any way (well, maybe guillotine)

Its the vengeful right wing christofascists that love it. Unfortunately, they are overrepresented in our governments.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 months ago (10 children)

Guillotine is almost certainly worse than hypoxia; having nerves severed is agonizing. Having almost all of them severed would be insanely painful.

That said, what if we just didn't kill people. That would be cool.

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[–] MdRuckus 63 points 9 months ago (18 children)

Just the pro life crowd being inhumane. Nothing to see here.

[–] testfactor 17 points 9 months ago (6 children)

To be fair, insofar as execution methods go, nitrogen asphyxiation is far far far and away the most humane.

So, like, it is an improvement? It's less inhumane than they were being at any rate?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (24 children)

Considered too cruel to be used by vets because of the clear signs of distress shown in animals to which it was administered. But this guy says it's good enough for humans!

It's important that a prisoner not just be killed, but can feel themselves dying, apparently.

I understand why you would think this seems peaceful. But we have no idea whether it is, anyone claiming otherwise is bullshitting or lying, and the entire idea of "humane" execution is an oxymoron to begin with.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (6 children)

Considered too cruel to be used by vets because of the clear signs of distress shown in animals to which it was administered.

Could you provide a reference for this? According to the Wikipedia article on inert gas asphyxiation:

Diving animals such as rats and minks and burrowing animals are sensitive to low-oxygen atmospheres and (unlike humans) will avoid them, making purely hypoxic techniques possibly inhumane[citation needed] for them.

This makes sense, but there's also a [citation needed] there. And even if true, it explicitly draws a distinction between these sorts of animals and humans, which the rest of the article is quite emphatic do not have sensitivity to low oxygen.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 9 months ago

They were possibly confusing nitrogen with carbon dioxide. CO2 will definitely lead to distress in high concentrations, and has been used in some slaughterhouses.

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[–] FlyingSquid 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't know if you can call any execution method even remotely humane.

Even if you know it isn't going to hurt, you still know you're going to die. There's no escaping that part.

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[–] gibmiser 33 points 9 months ago (33 children)

When it comes to mixed bag news this is as mixed as it gets. If we're gonna execute people, we can at least do it as humanely as possible.

[–] SkyezOpen 22 points 9 months ago

Yup. Morality and efficacy of the death penalty left totally aside for the moment, I'm shocked it took this long to use nitrogen instead of the clusterfuck cocktail that's tortured so many people to death.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

One of my state senators introduced a bill that'd let inmates choose execution by a firing squad made up of members of the legislature. Like 'If you want to kill them so bad, you pull the damn trigger.'

Isn't going anywhere but I like the sentiment. Real Ned Stark energy.

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[–] Waldowal 31 points 9 months ago (6 children)

Rev. Jeff Hood, Smith's spiritual adviser, was at Smith's side for the execution, and said prison officials in the room "were visibly surprised at how bad this thing went." "What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life," Hood, attending his fifth execution in the last 15 months, told reporters. "We saw minutes of someone heaving back and forth. We saw spit. We saw all sorts of stuff from his mouth develop on the mask. We saw this mask tied to the gurney, and him ripping his head forward over and over and over again."

All our technological advances as a society and this is the best we can do?

[–] [email protected] 28 points 9 months ago

Everyone who would actually know what they are doing in executions (doctors, pharmaceutical companies, veteranarians) have looked at it and said "this is barbaric in concept, no matter how humanely you do it, we will have no part in it". What you are left with is people without the relevent expertise, who do not have a problem with the barbarism, figuring out how to do it.

[–] Treczoks 15 points 9 months ago

State sanctioned murder with torture included for free. They did it the conservative Christian way...

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 9 months ago (10 children)

In November 2022, Alabama officials aborted his execution by lethal injection after struggling for hours to insert an intravenous line's needle in his body.

In Smith's second and final trip to the execution chamber on Thursday, executioners restrained him in a gurney and strapped a commercial industrial-safety respirator mask to his face. A canister of pure nitrogen was attached to the mask

This doesn't sound very professional!?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Someone else mentioned in another comment here that medical professionals can’t purposely kill someone because of their oath, so I’m guessing the people administering these execution methods are literally unqualified to do them.

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[–] _number8_ 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

why can't they just give them an insane amount of opiates rather than all this odd shit

(if we have to kill people, which we shouldn't)

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)
[–] gAlienLifeform 8 points 9 months ago

so cheap

"We're giving out longer prison sentences and cutting taxes and budgets, make it work." - Red state legislatures every two years

[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Civilized countries don't execute criminals and somehow don't experience more criminality or unacceptably high incarceration costs as a result. Capital punishment is an outdated cultural practice like slavery, genital mutilation or child brides and has nothing to do with the administration of justice. It is cultural and nothing else. They like the killing. They believe in the killing. It has no other purpose.

I don't know why much of the discussion is about the method of execution. Would it matter how they were fucking kids or beating slaves in Alabama or that they were doing those things at all? State executions are barbaric and indefensible in any form.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago

Richest 3rd world country

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