No, I want an arrangement that allows my head to drop into one of five numbered holes. Place your bets!
Maybe something like this. That would be awesome.
The variant on this that I think may be more accurate is so that any member of the squad can claim he only fired the blank.
Any real rifleman will know, instantly, if they have just fired a blank, rather than a live round. The difference is beyond obvious.
But if the squad has just had to shoot someone the whole Regiment really liked, each man on the squad has “plausible deniability.” I have read a claim (and have no supporting data at all!) that in at least one case, every member of the squad claimed to be the one who fired the blank.
‘Shooting Gallery of Steel’ execution machine.
I liked the execution of the central character’s mother’s boyfriend in the beginning chapters of Neal Stephenson’s “The Diamond Age.”
The convicted murderer was injected with millions of nano-machines, which were then distributed throughout his body by his circulatory system. After a suitable delay, each of the nanos exploded, leaving nothing but a pink mist, slowly settling to the ground.
The Romans were a weird bunch because they came up with the most contrived, painful ways to kill people, but also would simply have the victim kneel so the executioner could thrust a sword between the collarbone straight into the heart, causing almost instant death.
I know I’d really hate impalement, waiting hours or days for the point to reach the heart, or sawing; where they hung the victim from his spread legs and set in to work.
I’m amazed people have the stomach for this. In fact, over at Executedtoday.com, there’s a video of a modern Iranian hanging. They do it with plain marine synthetic rope, not the special pre-stressed hemp used by the US and UK. And the pull the victim up with a crane, no neck-break. In the video, even the family of the condemned’s victim can’t stand it, so they invoke their right to halt the execution.
Frankly, I don’t know why anyone ever felt obliged to come up with anything more elaborate than a small knife thrust into the back of the neck.
Really, this “humane” thing is nonsense. Capital punishment is not a legitimate deterrent (nor, really, is any kind of “justice”, because most of these guys think they will not get caught, or will get off), its primary function is retribution, so we might as well make it as brutal, gruesome and entertaining as possible. A large, automated clamp gimbaling around while the guy run around trying to avoid it (or chooses not to); when it captures him, it cuts off his head and flings it into a spinning roulette wheel. Might as well turn executions into gambling opportunities (including how long will he avoid the clamp, where will it catch him, and of course, the wheel number).
I’m not having that… the French taking the credit for a British invention.
None of the crazy old French ladies though, tha’ll ‘ave to put up with t’ locals wi’ flat caps and whippets…
For a painless death, I would recommend thermonuclear devices. The offendor would be vaporized instantly.
I can’t guarantee there would be no externalities with this form of execution.