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Bring the Guillotine Back to Death Row
The Atlantic ^ | May 2, 2014 | Conor Friedersdorf

Posted on 05/05/2014 7:14:23 PM PDT by grundle

A quick, painless, gruesome way to carry out capital punishment

If I were governor of a state that executed prisoners I'd declare a moratorium for my entire tenure. I wish that the United States would stop imposing the death penalty. I nevertheless find myself nodding along to Sonny Bunch's case for reintroducing the guillotine, a response to the botched execution of a death-row inmate in Oklahoma.

He argues that America has made its executions bloodless to protect the sensibilities of those who support the death penalty, with less humane killings as a result. (The electric chair. The gas chamber. Lethal injections. All have had horrific problems.)

Bunch writes:

"The guillotine really seems to solve everyone’s problems: It was designed to deliver an efficient, quick, and painless death. It performs that task admirably. I understand the irony of a reactionary such as myself embracing the Terror’s preferred method of execution, but one must give credit where it’s due."

"If we’re going to do something—and a large number of Americans and American states are pretty committed to performing executions—we ought to do it right. And “right” in this case means a quick and painless death. I can’t really imagine any reasonable objections to a widespread adoption of the guillotine."

I can imagine one objection: that the guillotine is barbaric.

But to me, that's a point in its favor. Let's have no illusions about what we're doing when the state carries out the killing of captive prisoners. I imagine support for the death penalty would decline rather quickly once heads started rolling.

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


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1 posted on 05/05/2014 7:14:23 PM PDT by grundle
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To: grundle

It is actually a pretty painless way to go.


2 posted on 05/05/2014 7:15:55 PM PDT by BipolarBob
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To: grundle

...and it makes great julian fries when not in use.


3 posted on 05/05/2014 7:16:32 PM PDT by Huskrrrr
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To: grundle

Back?

I didn’t know they ever used it here.


4 posted on 05/05/2014 7:16:33 PM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate "Republicans Freed the Slaves" Month.)
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To: grundle

Kind of hard to botch an execution with a guillotine...

But it can be done.... There is no 100% surefire way.


5 posted on 05/05/2014 7:17:55 PM PDT by GraceG
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To: grundle

(The electric chair. The gas chamber. Lethal injections. All have had horrific problems.)

I dunno, firing squads and hanging worked pretty well.

Personally, I’d just as soon see them sentenced to death and then turned over to the family and friends of the murder victim.


6 posted on 05/05/2014 7:20:02 PM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate "Republicans Freed the Slaves" Month.)
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To: GraceG

"How could you miss?"
"He moved."
"Shut up! Go and practice."

7 posted on 05/05/2014 7:20:39 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: grundle
I imagine support for the death penalty would decline rather quickly once heads started rolling.

IMO they should reinstate the guillotine and auction off the rights to pull the cord. It would go a long way toward reducing both recidivism and the debt.

8 posted on 05/05/2014 7:20:52 PM PDT by rockrr (Everything is different now...)
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To: grundle

The constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, it does not guarantee a painless execution.


9 posted on 05/05/2014 7:22:40 PM PDT by umgud
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To: grundle

Nitrogen Asphxiation

Strap the condemned down
put on a brain wave monitor
put on a breathing mask
apply 1.1 atmospheres of 99% pure nitrogen
Condemned passes out painlessly
wait till the brain waves go flat


10 posted on 05/05/2014 7:24:03 PM PDT by taxcontrol
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To: taxcontrol

Fly them over an active volcano and kick their ass out.


11 posted on 05/05/2014 7:25:57 PM PDT by umgud
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To: grundle

If I were sentenced to death, I’d choose firing squad.


12 posted on 05/05/2014 7:25:59 PM PDT by BeadCounter
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
I dunno, firing squads and hanging worked pretty well.

Firing squads can miss. Hanging actually requires careful mathemateics to ensure you quickly break the condemned's knock without decapitating him.

The guillotine was one of the few inventions the French got right. Quick, painless, physician not needed to determine death has occurred.

13 posted on 05/05/2014 7:26:54 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: grundle

If hanging was good enough for the Nazis at Nuremburg, then it should be good enough today.


14 posted on 05/05/2014 7:27:35 PM PDT by rotstan
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To: Drew68

I think too, a few people have survived hangings.

I think it might have been old West justice, if you survived a hanging, you were free to go.


15 posted on 05/05/2014 7:28:31 PM PDT by BeadCounter
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To: grundle

I bought a little plastic model guillotine, Revell, Aurora? ‘Chamber of Horrors’. Little guy, you could stand him up, slide him over to the blade, raise the blade, strike off his little head. Of course the real fun was sniffing that Testor’s glue and paint ...


16 posted on 05/05/2014 7:29:57 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
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To: BeadCounter

A condemned prisoner in Utah chose firing squad over lethal injection in 2010.


17 posted on 05/05/2014 7:30:18 PM PDT by BeadCounter
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To: BipolarBob

Not so much, as there is evidence that the brain still functins for several minutes after decapatation.

I kinda like the way the Romans did it, you know four horses, four limbs.

Of course burning at the stake is not a lot of fun either.
/s


18 posted on 05/05/2014 7:31:43 PM PDT by stubernx98 (cranky, but reasonable)
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To: dfwgator
When the Bourbons executed Napoleon's field marshal Joachim Murat, Murat was allowed to give the order to fire:

"Soldiers! Do your duty! Straight to the heart but spare the face. Fire!"

19 posted on 05/05/2014 7:32:20 PM PDT by MUDDOG
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To: Drew68
Firing squads can miss.

Not if you give all the shooters several rounds and semi-auto rifles. Hanging actually requires careful mathemateics to ensure you quickly break the condemned's knock without decapitating him.

Hell with that, just kick the chair out from under them and walk away.

20 posted on 05/05/2014 7:32:45 PM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate "Republicans Freed the Slaves" Month.)
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