# Pro-death-penalty types: would you be willing to act as executioner? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898 "2010-11-16T19:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/41 "2010-11-18T18:06:56Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Or even useful. :smack: > > I note that of the 55 respondents, about twenty didn’t feel it necessary to be able to opt out of the job if not convinced of the condemned person’s guilt, and a similar number did not feel obliged to opt out if they didn’t think the crime merited death. This seems odd to me. Did y’all not realize the poll allowed multiple responses, or is something else going on? Unemployment is high and a job’s a job. Except when it’s a labor of love. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/42 "2010-11-18T18:10:33Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Or even useful. :smack: > > I note that of the 55 respondents, about twenty didn’t feel it necessary to be able to opt out of the job if not convinced of the condemned person’s guilt, and a similar number did not feel obliged to opt out if they didn’t think the crime merited death. This seems odd to me. Did y’all not realize the poll allowed multiple responses, or is something else going on? I specifically chose not to. I could do the job if it was only a job. If I was evaluating each assignment and basically acting as a second judge and jury I don’t think I could do it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/43 "2010-11-19T02:33:17Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Being in support of something does not mean you yourself must do it. Do you think if one supports gay marriage they must marry someone of the same sex? But you should be willing to do something you are legally forcing upon someone. We aren’t legally forcing someone to “gay marry”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/44 "2010-11-19T02:44:18Z")
I’d do it. Though I’d add an extra requirement that it not be a family member or something like that. Christmas is awkward enough as it is. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/45 "2010-11-19T03:34:16Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > You left out “Yes, as long as I am allowed to kill the person the same way the victims were killed.” Granted, I don’t support the death penalty, but this _really_ creeped me out. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/46 "2010-11-19T12:29:44Z")
OP: Why did you leave out the simplest answer: “Yes”? If you (any you) think it ought to be done, then you ought to be willing to do it yourself. Any other choice is a form of denial. Morally significant acts demand morally significant commitments. That’s how I’d have answered had that choice been available. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/47 "2010-11-19T18:34:07Z")
Yes, quick, with the opt-outs for guilt and merit included. It’s a dirty job, but one that needs doing. It should be fast and done with as little emotion or drama as possible. Gore is distasteful, but not precluding - a beheading, for instance, done right can be messy, but very fast. My biggest issue with capital punishment is indeed the issues of merit and guilt. For those whom are utterly unsalvageable, and a clear and present danger to society, I see no point in warehousing them at public expense - I’m talking about the Bundys, Dahlmers, and Pichushkins of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/48 "2010-11-19T18:46:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > OP: Why did you leave out the simplest answer: “Yes”? !) Because I felt like it. @) Because I couldn’t imagine that anybody here would be willing to act as executioner if doing so until taking a a rusty sppon and digging out the condemned’s eyeballs, so the “too gory” option seemed necessary. #) Because I thought it unlikely that anybody would be willing to administer the death penalty for, say, apostasy, or killing the king’s deer, so the “not meriting death” penalty seemed necessary. $) Because I hoped no one would be willing to administer even an instantaneous execution when they believed the condemned was innocent, so the “He didn’t do it, guvnor!” seemed required. %) Because I’m like that. > [@](#): > > If you (any you) think it ought to be done, then you ought to be willing to do it yourself. Any other choice is a form of denial. Morally significant acts demand morally significant commitments. Can you not imagine someone willing to administer an execution under _some_ circumstances, but not _others_? Because frankly I don’t want to be around someone who was willing to kill any condemned prisoner no matter his personal opinion of of the prisoner’s guilt or the propriety of the act. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/49 "2010-11-20T04:30:22Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > @) Because I couldn’t imagine that anybody here would be willing to act as executioner if doing so until taking a a rusty sppon and digging out the condemned’s eyeballs, so the “too gory” option seemed necessary. I would’ve liked to live in a world where there was a genuine _shortage_ of people who deserved to have their eyes dug out with a rusty spoon. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/50 "2010-11-20T13:17:24Z")
What are you fishing for with this poll, if I may ask? Now that we understand your disdain for executioners who will simply carry out the orders of the courts, do you have any other point? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/51 "2010-11-20T17:10:51Z")
Yes, if the court of law has tried him and considered him deserving of the death penalty I as a citizen should if ordered execute him. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/52 "2010-11-20T17:29:10Z")
Yes. Just yes, no extra stipulations necessary. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/53 "2010-11-20T17:30:15Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I as a citizen should if ordered execute him. WTF:confused: ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/54 "2010-11-20T19:07:25Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > But you should be willing to do something you are legally forcing upon someone. We aren’t legally forcing someone to “gay marry”. Why? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/55 "2010-11-20T19:41:55Z")
I picked: “Yes, so long as I am allowed to opt out if not convinced of the prisoner’s guilt,” “Yes, so long as I am allowed to opt out if not convinced the crime merits death” and “Yes, as long as the method of execution is not overly gory.” I wouldn’t volunteer to be the executioner, but if someone had to do it… There’s only a handful of crimes that I consider worthy of the DP, and if it seems clear that they’re guilty, I’d do it if the alternative was letting them go free and murdering more people. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/56 "2010-11-20T21:02:53Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > There’s only a handful of crimes that I consider worthy of the DP, and if it seems clear that they’re guilty, I’d do it if the alternative was letting them go free and murdering more people. Under what circumstances would that particular dilemma ever arise? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/57 "2010-11-22T18:40:12Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > What are you fishing for with this poll, if I may ask? Now that we understand your disdain for executioners who will simply carry out the orders of the courts, do you have any other point? I wasn’t fishing for anything. I was asking a question for which I wanted to find the answer. If I wanted to say something like, oh, _Persons who support the death penalty should be willing to act as executioner, or else they are hypocrites_, I would have. But note that I specifically disavowed that position upthread (talking to Mika, I think). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/58 "2010-11-22T18:41:50Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > WTF:confused: The poster once known as Curtis LeMay seems to worship authority. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/59 "2010-11-22T18:43:35Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > The poster once known as Curtis LeMay seems to worship authority. Ahhhh, oneofthem. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898/60 "2010-11-22T19:00:14Z")
Answered yes, and with caveats: I want to be anonymous (because technically, I’m not killing the prisoner, the State is), I want to be able to opt out if my conscience does bother me, and I want it to be quick. Didn’t check the “gory” option since I’m assuming that’s covered under the constitution’s bar of cruel and unusual punishment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-death-penalty-types-would-you-be-willing-to-act-as-executioner/560898.md?page=4)