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Notes -
Over a decade ago, the BBC came out with a documentary titled How to Kill a Human Being that went into what the director believed to be the most humane and painless way to execute someone if you really wish to do so. Towards the end of the documentary, they interview someone who believes that death row criminals don’t deserve the most humane death possible because those criminals hardly offered their own victims a humane death. The documentary gives it an air of “Look, we’ve found a humane way to actually do executions, and these barbaric Americans don’t want to do that because to them, bloodthirsty cruelty is the point.”
Well, what do you know, Alabama has now actually implemented this “most humane” form of execution for the first time, and news coverage from the BBC and others have been almost exclusively negative. There’s little to no nuance, just statements that the UN and EU condemns this “particularly cruel and unusual punishment.” Where now is the context that the US is merely doing what it was previously criticized for not doing?
To be sure, the scene of thrashing does seem to be more violent than the documentary insinuated such an execution would be, but that itself appears to be because the inmate tried to forcibly hold their breath for as long as possible instead of allowing themselves to pass out from hypoxia. I wouldn’t pin the blame for voluntary thrashing on the method of execution.
What do you think? Am I wrong in reading this as just another case of “Americans can do nothing right”?
From reading news reports, it seems that the execution did not use sedation in conjunction with the nitrogen hypoxia, which is the recommended method when euthanising large animals by this method.
I think if they did use sedation, that would do away with the thrashing/attempts to hold breath. On the other hand, they did have the guy in prison for 35 years already, and I don't see what the problem is with keeping him locked up for another 20 or 30 years. If you're going to execute someone, you should do it within a year or two of the sentence being passed. I know appeals drag it out, but if everyone knows this is how it works, then it's pointless to go through the rigmarole of keeping someone in jail for 30 or 40 years until you can execute them. At that point, you may as well convert the sentence to life in jail without parole.
What concerns me about the death penalty is the finality of it all. What if you made a mistake and new evidence comes to light?
Given that, I’m not a big fan of rushing execution.
Do you think there are examples where this isn't much of a concern? A recent example that comes to mind is the 2022 Buffalo shooting. This was a straightforward massacre of innocents, livestreamed by the perpetrator. My perspective is that any system that has left him alive in 2024 has become unmoored from the purpose of a justice system.
Yeah — something like that or certain political leaders too dangerous to leave alive (eg I would’ve executed Hitler in short order)
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