Ok, so I do not wish to discuss the pros and cons of the death penalty itself. What I am interested in, and this is sparked by several discussions recently, is this: Assuming you have the death penalty, what method/s of execution would you consider humane - not cruel and unusual?
None. There isn’t any way to murder a human being “humanely.”
Any method of executing a person is humane if that person is unconscious. Knock them out with drugs and throw them in the wood chipper–if the executee doesn’t suffer, it’s not inhumane.
Diogenes, for the sake of the OP’s argument, it’s assumed that the simple fact of execution itself isn’t inhumane. Huge assumption, I know, but that’s the foundation for the debate.
I’d have to say lethal injection is the least painful method, but being painless doesn’t neccesarily make it “humane”
I know this is a little barbaric but…
What does being humane have to do with executions?
Tit for tat: Execute them in a similar fashion that they used for their victims.
This may not serve as a deterrent but at least it would provide an outlet for some of the psychos who need to inflict pain and harm on others. Would keep at least some of them from acting out their fantasies on the general public.
Believe it or not, hanging is actually pretty instantaneous and painless. So is the firing squad. So is the guillotine.
I would favour locking the condemned in an airtight cell. Fill the cell with increasing levels of carbon monoxide. Victim falls asleep gnly and never waes up. No pain.
Of course knowing that one s never going to ake up is pretty harsh. but knowing that one is going on that last walk can’t be very easy either.
So you want an “eye for an eye” system of justice? What about using this philosophy for non-capitol crimes? Do you think the official punishment for rape should be rape?
from my pit post
So I like the idea of having the condemed choose. Not to give him any choice but I can see choices like injection, firing squad, hanging, eletrocution, and maybe allow him to name his own way to go provided that:
1 - it does not delay his death (i.e. he can’t choose old age)
2 - any expense above the standard execution cost is paid for by him.
I like hanging, for the following reasons:
Cheap.... rope can be re-used many times, gallows
is low-maintenance (and portable!).
Not dangerous to bystanders and not particularly messy,
so can be done in public.
Can be quick and painless, or slow and gruesome,
as needed.
Hanged man can be left dangling for days, so passers-by
can see the "visual object lesson" on what happens
to wrongdoers.What the hell, why not bring back crucifixion? The classics never die.
Opiate overdose is the ONLY way to go. Fentanyl would do it extremely quickly, whereas Dilaudid would be a bit slower but more enjoyable. There are other options too, those are the 2 that first come to mind.
not that i’d know firsthand, mind you.
Oh sweet Jesus on a wooden T thats’ funny.
I do believe the word HUMANE was mentioned, man. I suppose, though, if all the condemned are promised beforehand that they get to rise up to Heaven afterwards and people will celebrate yr birthday…nah…still not humane.
As for the guillotine as a humane method of execution, I would recommend one read “Reflections on the Guillotine” by Albert Camus for wonderfully descriptive eyewitness accounts of beheadings:
.
Here is a site which lists several methods of executions (lethal injection, hanging, electric chair, etc.) and mishaps of each type. The site, though, seems to be peddling some book about death row.
I assume it’s a coffee table book to go with the one about European castles.
I think the most humane method of execution (untested though it may be) is explosion. Strap ten pounds of C4 to the condemned’s chest and put them in the middle of a field. Sure, cleaning afterwards would be a mess, but I would be willing to be that the executed had no idea it had happened.
If I was allowed to choose a method of execution for myself, I’d have to go with a good, old-fashioned stoning, but just as long as they’d let me wear a toga. Let the victim’s family throw the rocks; see if I care. If I’m a murderer who’s going to die, I may as well at least die with a sense of humor.
–greenphan
Give them a thousand paper cuts then tie a rock to their leg and throw them into a pool of vinegar to drown. The best part is you never have to remove the bodies. Just let them pile up at the bottom of the pool.
Sure there is. You’re confusing the morality of the act with the act itself.
I would vote for the guillotine. Not a bad way to go really. The sad fact is we all have to go. Death is the loneliest thing anyone can do in a room filled with people. Having watched both my parents die from cancer, I would welcome the guillotine.
The next question is, can this thread resist a moral debate?
**I think the most humane method of execution (untested though it may be) is explosion. Strap ten pounds of C4 to the condemned’s chest and put them in the middle of a field. Sure, cleaning afterwards would be a mess, but I would be willing to be that the executed had no idea it had happened. **
You mean like what saddam liked to do?
They only do that during Sweeps.
Not quite…
It seems that the executioners are ignoring the instructions on the death warrants and opting for a different mode of death.
–greenphan
I’ve been able to resist a moral debate and it hasnt’ been that hard.
I’m against the death penalty but I still think this is a good debate. If there must be a death penalty (and I doubt it will stop being used before I die), it should be as antiseptic or painless as possible and thats’ what the OP asked for, IIRC.
–greenphan