# You'll Never Take Me Alive, Coppers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 1, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902 "2012-07-01T14:49:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/1 "2012-07-01T14:49:31Z")
**Michael Marin, ex-Wall Street banker, may have swallowed poison pill during courtroom conviction for arson** Read more: [Michael Marin, ex-Wall Street banker, may have swallowed poison pill during courtroom conviction for arson](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/michael-marin-ex-wall-street-banker-swallowed-poison-pill-courtroom-conviction-arson-article-1.1104528#ixzz1zNksJJVy) Well, I suppose I can’t I blame him. I hear tales that jail is rough. What could he take maybe one or two of that would take him out that quickly? I doubt he had a box jellyfish in his thermos or a cone snail in his sleeve! ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/2 "2012-07-01T15:08:52Z")
Cyanide is hard to get. Potassium overdose would do it, but I’m not sure how long it would take. ---
**Author:** ![L.mo5rg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f475e1/32.png) [@L.mo5rg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/L.mo5rg)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/3 "2012-07-01T15:11:09Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > **Michael Marin, ex-Wall Street banker, may have swallowed poison pill during courtroom conviction for arson** > Well, I suppose I can’t I blame him. I hear tales that jail is rough. Funny because I was just reading about people who purposefully got sent to jail so they would have food and shelter etc ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/4 "2012-07-02T00:36:37Z")
He couldn’t pay his mortgage… so he very obviously torched his house… which may have had valuable, one-of-a-kind works of art inside… gets arrested… is declared guilty… and THEN kills himself? Wow. I think his decision-making skills need work. Oops! Too late. They’re going to make sure this never happens again, of course. I dunno: killing yourself instead of going to prison should be an option, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/5 "2012-07-02T15:27:39Z")
Heh. [Poison pill](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison%20pill). I see what they did there… ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/6 "2012-07-02T17:21:25Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > He couldn’t pay his mortgage… so he very obviously torched his house… which may have had valuable, one-of-a-kind works of art inside… gets arrested… is declared guilty… and THEN kills himself? I notice that he didn’t wait for the sentencing. Apparently, not being able to live rich was worse than not being able to live at all. Quality of life decision, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/7 "2012-07-02T17:39:57Z")
You’d need about 200 prescription strength potassium chloride pills to kill yourself, and it’s going to take more than 10 minutes. There could also have been something in the sports bottle he was drinking from, or the Kleenex he grabbed from the woman behind him. I’m sure they’re investigating all of these. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/8 "2012-07-02T17:58:40Z")
If the story is true, the right cliche would be “I’ll never survive in prison,” not “you’ll never take me alive.” They already caught the guy and put him on trial. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/9 "2012-07-02T19:14:16Z")
Yeah, but it doesn’t catch eye as well, Downy McDowner.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/10 "2012-07-02T20:03:43Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If the story is true, the right cliche would be “I’ll never survive in prison,” not “you’ll never take me alive.” They already caught the guy and put him on trial. I believe the right one is “I’m too pretty to do time!” I say this not having clicked on the link or seen a picture of the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/11 "2012-07-02T20:42:53Z")
> [@Stormcrow](#): > > I believe the right one is “I’m too pretty to do time!” > > I say this not having clicked on the link or seen a picture of the guy. Follow the link in the OP and you’ll see a few pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/12 "2012-07-02T20:52:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Follow the link in the OP and you’ll see a few pictures. It has the entire video of the incident. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/13 "2012-07-02T20:59:12Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Cyanide is hard to get. So are Picassos. I reckon someone with means or at least connections from when he had means, could get it pretty easily. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/14 "2012-07-02T21:34:01Z")
I read about this in the newspaper today. What really struck me is that he was wearing his scuba gear when he ‘escaped’ the fire. For some reason I envisioned him decked out in a tank, wet suit and flippers. It made me giggle but then I’m a little twisted. ---
**Author:** ![orderfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orderfire/32/10908_2.png) [@orderfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orderfire)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/15 "2012-07-02T21:42:26Z")
I saw this the other night and I’m ashamed to say I watched the entire video, like a ghoul. Rather disturbing. He definitely appeared to have put something in his mouth after the decision was read. Then of course I sat there tapping my foot for 11 minutes, waiting for the money shot. I am truly disgusting. A side-wonder: does it seem like financial/white collar crooks tend to off themselves instead of doing time more than, say, pedophiles or drug dealers? I have no data, just a half baked observation. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/16 "2012-07-02T23:04:07Z")
To me it looks like he put his hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up. Don’t some people experience nausea with a heart attack? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/17 "2012-07-02T23:22:19Z")
> [@orderfire](#): > > A side-wonder: does it seem like financial/white collar crooks tend to off themselves instead of doing time more than, say, pedophiles or drug dealers? I have no data, just a half baked observation. I don’t think so; after all, they tend to go to “prisons” that are fairly nice places in comparison, to serve short terms, and typically even get to keep much of the money they stole. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/18 "2012-07-03T00:00:08Z")
Well, but where do they send you for arson? Medium security? If only he’d fessed up to the financial stuff and not trashed his house… I mean, jeez. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/19 "2012-07-03T01:14:35Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > So are Picassos. I reckon someone with means or at least connections from when he had means, could get it pretty easily. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902/20 "2012-07-03T19:24:18Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Cyanide is hard to get. Potassium overdose would do it, but I’m not sure how long it would take. Neither really fit the symptoms observed. The onset of violent convulsions ten minutes after ingestion makes me think of strychnine. It’s also easy to get in the form of commercial poison baits for pest control. Hell of a painful way to die, though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youll-never-take-me-alive-coppers/626902.md?page=2)