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Executions should be by firing squad, federal appeals court judge says
The Los Angeles Times ^ | July 23, 2014 | Maura Dolan

Posted on 07/24/2014 3:24:53 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Days before an Arizona murderer gasped and snorted for more than 90 minutes and died nearly two hours after his execution began, a conservative federal appeals judge called for replacing lethal injection with firing squads, saying the public must acknowledge that executions are "brutal, savage events."

"Using drugs meant for individuals with medical needs to carry out executions is a misguided effort to mask the brutality of executions by making them look serene and beautiful — like something any one of us might experience in our final moments," U.S. 9th Circuit Court Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote in a dissent in the Arizona death penalty case of Joseph Rudolph Wood III.

"But executions are, in fact, brutal, savage events, and nothing the state tries to do can mask that reality. Nor should we. If we as a society want to carry out executions, we should be willing to face the fact that the state is committing a horrendous brutality on our behalf."

Kozinski revealed his views in a dissent filed Monday to an order in which the full 9th Circuit refused to review a decision of a 9th Circuit three-judge panel to put Wood's execution on hold....

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Government; Society
KEYWORDS: arizona; california; deathpenalty; judiciary
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1 posted on 07/24/2014 3:24:53 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

If they want to kill these guys quick with drugs, go into property and get that PURE HEROIN they used for evidence in another case and dont destroy it after the trial, use it in a massive dose. Shouldn’t take long

Or get 5 guys with 30-06 like the judge says with 4 live rounds and a blank at 10 yards with soft point ammo aimed at a heart target. That’ll work too.


2 posted on 07/24/2014 3:34:05 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

3 posted on 07/24/2014 3:35:44 AM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
called for replacing lethal injection with firing squads

Would save money, too.

4 posted on 07/24/2014 3:38:12 AM PDT by grobdriver (Where is Wilson Blair when you need him?)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Our ancestors weren’t stupid in this matter. Quick, inexpensive executions. None of this “death-row” nonsense. Killers shouldn’t have the opportunity to die a natural death while family members of victims have to suffer.


5 posted on 07/24/2014 3:45:02 AM PDT by Politicalkiddo (You cannot protect a child from child abuse by aborting it. Abortion *is* child abuse.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

A buccal lozenge with a gram of fentanyl should do just fine.

No needle, no cut-down, no I.V., no technical skill required, no mess.

A pint of bourbon is at the option of the “guest”.


6 posted on 07/24/2014 3:45:49 AM PDT by gasport (President Omoeba needs to evolve a spine)
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To: Vendome

Yes, why is this option never discussed? It is sure and quick, but Americans don’t want to see it.


7 posted on 07/24/2014 3:46:09 AM PDT by Truth29
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To: Truth29

Americans don’t


8 posted on 07/24/2014 3:48:14 AM PDT by knarf (I say things that are true .. I have no proof .. but they're true.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Firing squad supposedly has an uncertainty factor that is cited as a plus. One of the shooters has a blank, so no shooter knows with certainty that he killed anybody. Supposedly. I’ve never shot blanks, but can’t you tell if you’re firing a blank?


9 posted on 07/24/2014 4:01:25 AM PDT by samtheman
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To: knarf

“Our ancestors weren’t stupid in this matter. Quick, inexpensive executions.”............

Like the old west days, hang them on the spot, put a sign on the body stating, “He needed killin”.

So they made a mistake or two. In the big scheme of things as Hitlary said, “What difference does it make?”


10 posted on 07/24/2014 4:02:15 AM PDT by DaveA37
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To: grobdriver

Although bloody it is more humane in a much quicker death and virtually no chance to botch it up or cause an extended, painful lingering on. I’d choose the rapid bullets insertion to the heart method.


11 posted on 07/24/2014 4:07:31 AM PDT by tflabo (Truth or tyranny)
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To: samtheman

Not really. When we did field exercises we had an attachment at the end of the weapon called a blank firing adaptor. A blank-firing adapter or blank-firing attachment (BFA), sometimes called a blank adapter or blank attachment, is a device used in conjunction with blank ammunition. Blank firing adapters are required for allowing blanks to cycle most automatic firearms. It can also be a safety feature designed so if a live round is mistakenly fired, most of the energy is spent smashing through the BFA reducing both the range and damage inflicted. A BFA may also divert the hot gases from a blank discharge out to the sides, reducing the risk of injury to the target of an aimed shot. But for firing only one round a BFA wouldn't be needed and I don't think you'd be able to tell the difference.

12 posted on 07/24/2014 4:08:47 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“the public must acknowledge that executions are “brutal, savage events.”

The best crime deterrence is for the felon must know that executions are (to be quickly meted out and are (by design) brutal and savage as payback for crimes against society and the victim and that it’s not about them or any rights that they claim.”)


13 posted on 07/24/2014 4:12:42 AM PDT by Recompennation (Constitutional protection for all not ju st selectively for Democrats.)
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To: samtheman

” I’ve never shot blanks, but can’t you tell if you’re firing a blank?”

Not really, at least not with the rifles I’ve shot.


14 posted on 07/24/2014 4:20:11 AM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“Arizona murderer gasped and snorted for more than 90 minutes and died nearly two hours after his execution began”

Not sure I’m seein’ the problem here.


15 posted on 07/24/2014 4:26:46 AM PDT by V_TWIN
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To: samtheman

Yep


16 posted on 07/24/2014 4:29:42 AM PDT by Rome2000
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To: driftdiver

With an AK-47 its pretty noticeable


17 posted on 07/24/2014 4:32:23 AM PDT by Rome2000
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To: samtheman

A blank won’t have the same recoil that a standard round of ammunition will have. The reduced gas pressure is the reason for the device to make the rifle function. Now whether someone would notice that he had fired a blank when only one round was fired, I don’t know....


18 posted on 07/24/2014 4:38:46 AM PDT by Quickgun (I got here kicking,screaming and covered in someone else's blood. I can go out that way if I have to)
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To: V_TWIN
"Not sure I’m seein’ the problem here."

Agree. How about death by slow torture, followed by the body hung on whatever passes for the city gates as a deterrent to others who think about capital punishment crimes. The sanitizing of the death penalty servers to dilute any deterrent effect.

19 posted on 07/24/2014 4:39:06 AM PDT by Truth29
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To: Quickgun
"A blank won’t have the same recoil that a standard round of ammunition will have. The reduced gas pressure is the reason for the device to make the rifle function."

in a bolt action rifle there would be no need for a blank firing adapter and no need to recycle gasses to actuate a piston or bolt on the weapon. Felt recoil is primarily the result (or in Newtonian terms, the "reaction") to the bullet being pushed towards the muzzle: the heavier the projectile the combustion gasses must push forward, he heavier the recoil. A strong crimp on a blank round can be applied to force the propellant gasses to do about as much work pushing forward as a bullet, resulting in similar felt recoil.

20 posted on 07/24/2014 4:45:54 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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