# Prison executions : Who knew they were so expensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 7, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987 "2017-04-07T15:38:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/1 "2017-04-07T15:38:06Z")
This has to be among the most outrageous reasons to speed up or carry out an execution. [INDENT] > [@](#): > > By Jon Herskovitz > A U.S. judge on Thursday halted one of the eight executions Arkansas plans over 11 days in the second half of April, saying the expedited schedule does not allow proper time for considering that inmate’s clemency. > > U.S. District Judge J.P. Marshall ordered a halt to the planned April 27 execution of convicted murderer Jason McGehee, allowing the other seven executions to go on as planned. > > … > > Hutchinson set the schedule for four double executions to be held on April 17, 20, 24 and 27, saying **the expedited schedule was needed because a difficult-to-obtain drug in the state’s lethal injection mix expires at the end of the month.** [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-arkansas-execution-idUSKBN1782NR[/INDENT]](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-arkansas-execution-idUSKBN1782NR%5B/INDENT%5D) I wonder if this stuff really expires, and how long it was sitting around before they decided that it was time to use it to kill eight people. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/2 "2017-04-07T15:49:34Z")
Well it _ **is** _ pharmaceutical grade isn’t it? Can’t have people being harmed by out of date drugs ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Sanchez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rick\_Sanchez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/3 "2017-04-07T15:50:34Z")
I’m as anti-DP as they come, but I do wonder why, _if_ we’re going to have it, we need go to all this trouble to sanitise it. Either these people deserve to die, or they don’t. If they do, what’s wrong with a bullet to the head? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/4 "2017-04-07T15:52:22Z")
Maybe they’re [looking at a 3000% price hike](http://www.whsv.com/content/news/In-Virginia-a-thirtyfold-price-hike-in-one-year-for-lethal-injection-drugs-395523361.html). ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/5 "2017-04-07T16:21:30Z")
Martin Shkreli’s in the execution business? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/6 "2017-04-07T19:32:16Z")
Have you not been following the news on the death penalty? The companies that make the drugs typically used in executions have been deliberately making them either unavailable or unavailable to states that have the death penalty due primarily to international pressure. Using expired drugs would violate the ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ limitation in the constitution since the state could not ensure their effectiveness at rendering the person unconscious, so once they hit their used by date the drugs are useless. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/7 "2017-04-07T20:01:14Z")
I wish would end the death penalty, but until we do…what is wrong with a massive fentanyl overdose??? It’s humane and seems pretty effective. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/8 "2017-04-07T20:18:52Z")
They can always go back to the traditional methods: hanging, electrocution, firing squad. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/9 "2017-04-07T20:40:47Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > They can always go back to the traditional methods: hanging, electrocution, firing squad. Maybe for the middle of the season,but for sweeps it’s gotta be Lions. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/10 "2017-04-07T21:48:02Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I wish would end the death penalty, but until we do…what is wrong with a massive fentanyl overdose??? It’s humane and seems pretty effective. Or a cylinder of nitrogen? Even cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/11 "2017-04-07T22:53:10Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > Or a cylinder of nitrogen? Even cheaper. Yeah, we kicked that around in a recent thread. Zero downside option. That, and CO, except that the latter could be hazardous to anyone nearby if vented. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/12 "2017-04-08T03:14:11Z")
What is the going rate for a single [.45 ACP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45_ACP) round nowadays? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/13 "2017-04-08T03:50:21Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I wish would end the death penalty, but until we do…what is wrong with a massive fentanyl overdose??? It’s humane and seems pretty effective. Unless the person has built up a tolerance to it, and they’re still loitering on the cot an hour later, almost dead but not quite. Eventually the prisoner dies, but then the AP reporter runs out to file a story about another botched execution, and the news trucks start pulling up at the prison, and now the warden has a scandal on his hands. That would be inconvenient. You can kill someone pretty easily by strapping them to a gurney and pumping chemicals into them. What’s harder is doing it in a way that’s fast, consistent, and not gross to watch. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/14 "2017-04-08T04:03:35Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Unless the person has built up a tolerance to it, and they’re still loitering on the cot an hour later, almost dead but not quite. Then use carfentanyl, anybody who can live through that has earned the right. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/15 "2017-04-08T08:03:00Z")
Guillotine. Simple, quick, and probably pretty close to painless, given that the final loss of consciousness likely sets in before the shock wears off. I’m totally against the death penalty, but if we’re gonna have it, let’s not be squeamish about the fact that we’re killing someone, which is AFAICT the only reason not to go this way. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/16 "2017-04-08T10:46:32Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > They can always go back to the traditional methods: hanging, electrocution, firing squad. Except that a lot of states passed laws that mandate lethal injection for execution based on older Supreme Court cases. So they would have to pass a new law to use a different method, come up with a set of procedures, and then deal with the slow appeals process as prisoners argued that the new method was cruel and unusual, or that it is a post de facto change to the law, or any other defense. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/17 "2017-04-08T17:22:03Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Unless the person has built up a tolerance to it, and they’re still loitering on the cot an hour later, almost dead but not quite. After being in prison, how likely is it that fentanyl tolerance still exists? ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/18 "2017-04-10T01:28:06Z")
Gradual CO2 overdose It’s cheap, effective, and it NEVER expires. Oh yea, it’s humane too ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/19 "2017-04-10T01:32:00Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Gradual CO2 overdose > It’s cheap, effective, and it NEVER expires. > > Oh yea, it’s humane too I assume you mean CO or nitrogen overdose. A CO2 overdose is anything but humane – it’s extremely painful and feels like you’re suffocating. You’d be gasping for breath and your lungs would be burning. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987/20 "2017-04-10T02:42:41Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > What is the going rate for a single [.45 ACP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45_ACP) round nowadays? Too simple. It needs to be [overly complicated](https://www.bizarrepedia.com/the-suicide-helmet/). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-executions-who-knew-they-were-so-expensive/783987.md?page=2)