# Speaking of the death penalty **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308 "2021-05-17T19:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/21 "2021-05-18T11:54:03Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Anyway, South Carolina is apparently going to offer their condemned the choice of firing squad or electric chair, because unobtainable death chemicals. Wow, thoughtful barbarians. That’s definitely a new concept. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2021, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/22 "2021-05-18T11:56:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Would the blood then be thrown away As opposed to what, being offered for sale on EBay? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/23 "2021-05-18T12:13:51Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > As opposed to what, being offered for sale on EBay? Obviously not. Since blood has rejuvenating properties, [poshmark.com](http://poshmark.com) is clearly going to be the online re-seller of choice. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/24 "2021-05-18T12:35:31Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > the apparent contradiction, because of the fear, correctly or not, that the opportunity for organ harvest would encourage the DP. That’s dodgy; the apparently moral distinction was made by a pro-DP proponent. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/25 "2021-05-18T14:04:17Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > > > Killing a guy is okay, harvesting his organs is not. > > The things we choose to care about in a notionally civilized society. No, I’m from the US. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/26 "2021-05-18T14:10:40Z")
I’m very pro death penalty and it should be as quick and painless as possible. Personally, I’d prefer a nitrogen chamber ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/27 "2021-05-18T14:13:19Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > It can’t be that good for the humans on the squad either. And who are these people? What kind of person would volunteer to be part of a firing squad? To shoot at a human being strapped to a chair? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/28 "2021-05-18T14:27:21Z")
In Utah, the only state where the firing squad is currently in use, the shooters are volunteer law enforcement and corrections officers. Organ donation of the executed in the US is rare to non-existent, since the lifestyles of the condemned usually leave their organs compromised from some variation of hepatitis. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/29 "2021-05-18T14:35:34Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > In Utah, the only state where the firing squad is currently in use, the shooters are volunteer law enforcement and corrections officers. I know. I didn’t mean “who are these people” in the sense of asking what were the names of the people on Gary Gilmore’s firing squad. I meant “what kind of person would volunteer to be on a firing squad?” Seems to me that everyone who volunteers for firing squad duty should be on a watch list for the rest of their lives. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/30 "2021-05-18T15:31:43Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Seems to me that everyone who volunteers for firing squad duty should be on a watch list for the rest of their lives Yup, just like defense attorneys, any one who would carry out a distasteful but necessary part of the criminal justice system is just one step away from a law breaker themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/31 "2021-05-18T15:38:08Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > Yup, just like defense attorneys, any one who would carry out a distasteful but necessary part of the criminal justice system is just one step away from a law breaker themselves. No, no, not even close. I can’t even grasp how anyone could think that a defense lawyer is “just like” someone who would voluntarily shoot a human being strapped to a chair. Who would not only do it, but seek out the opportunity to do it. To shoot and kill a person is a bit more than “distasteful.” Seriously. And it’s just disturbing that there are people, plenty of them, who would volunteer to do it. And criminal defense work is hardly “distasteful.” It’s a vital part of our justice system. Without it, our justice system does not work. Or, if it does work, transforms into something very, very different from the admittedly imperfect system it is now. There’s nothing distasteful, or dishonorable, or, well, disturbing, about the practice of criminal law. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/32 "2021-05-18T16:26:58Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I’m unable to provide a direct link, but if you’ll search for Richard Speck’s prison video, you’ll have your evidence. If it’s the one where he snorts coke and has sex, I think that proves my point. He wasn’t stewing in his own toxic juices, he was having a good time. He even says so in the video. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308/33 "2021-05-18T16:30:19Z")
They forced him to have breast-growing hormones. He was the bottom during the sex. Yes he said “if only they knew how much fun I’m having,” but really, he was made into a traded sex toy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-the-death-penalty/942308.md?page=1)