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US military will execute Fort Hood attacker by firing squad, a first in 60 years (www.bbc.com)

submitted 13 hours ago by YeahToast@aussie.zone to c/world@lemmy.world

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This country is fucked.

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[-] My_IFAKs___gone@lemmy.world 10 points 11 hours ago

Seems like as good a place as any to ask...there doesn't seem to be any great way to kill a person. I used to think asphyxiation by nitrogen was the ideal for a dignified and gentle death, but I guess that has issues. So has anyone anywhere developed a method that isn't so terrible or unreliable?

What about something super instant and imperceptible...like being given general anesthetic and having the head (or entire body) placed into some kind of superfast pneumatic crushing machine that works in a fraction of an second and has a self-cleaning feature? Guaranteed death that no one has to see or clean up and isn't felt by the executed person?

That being said, I'm opposed to the death sentence. Not because I don't think there are crimes for which a person deserves to die, but because of the potential for a false accusation.

Our species is so heinous.

[-] Hoimo@ani.social 8 points 7 hours ago

It's actually super easy to kill someone if you're not a pussy about it. Humans do it every day. But it will never be "clean" or "painless" and it's a fantasy to think there could be a way to kill someone that is entirely free of guilt.

The problem with the death penalty is that the accuser calls for the death penalty (on paper) and a judge sentences the accused to death (on paper) and then they don't do it right away, but put them in a hole for 40 years. Decades later, some pencil pushers process the stack of papers and have to go get a wretch out of the hole to kill them. At that point no one has the motivation to actually do it, so they try to think of ways to honor the stack of papers without actually feeling like they murdered a defenseless old hole dweller who hasn't done any harm for 40 years.

I also think the death penalty is stupid. If you kill them right away, they don't have the chance to change. If you kill them later, they have already changed too much to justify actually killing them. Just make them work the mines for a couple years and reconsider once everyone has calmed down.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 7 points 7 hours ago

The problem you’re going to have is that there simply is no good way to kill someone that does not want to die.

It does not matter how painless it is. It doesn’t even matter if it feels good. they will resist, just as soon as they realize what’s happening.

Something like the sarco pods rely on the willingness and desire of the people using them. (Or at least, for the intended purpose). If you tried to use them for executions, the victim would resist the moment they saw it.

If you try it sedate them, they’ll resist the sedation. If you try to slip something in the food, they’ll stop eating, etc.

The problem isn’t the method. The problem is it’s inhumane on its own.

[-] Havatra@lemmy.zip 2 points 6 hours ago

What kind of issues does nitrogen asphyxiation have? From what I know you'll lose consciousness rather easily, and from there it's a quiet road to death?

It's readily available (it's 71% of our air)
Not hazardous (the body doesn't have to be treated as toxic waste compared to drug injections)
It has nearly no margin of error compared to injection or electric chair (the victim can't "almost" die)
No doctor/engineer experience needed for operation
It's peaceful

What am I missing?

[-] CoconutPete@aussie.zone 10 points 11 hours ago

Youre just describing a fancy guillotine

[-] My_IFAKs___gone@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago

Yeah, guillotine was the inspiration, but it has baggage in the form of post-drop lingering consciousness for a few moments.

[-] Arcanepotato@crazypeople.online 6 points 11 hours ago

In the US, doctors are prohibited from participating in executions. I'm sure that doesn't help people make informed decisions when coming up with ways the state can kill people.

[-] Kirp123@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago

It's one of the reasons lethal injection executions get botched. The people doing them rarely have any medical training, sometimes they can't even find a vein properly.

[-] robear@lemmy.zip 2 points 10 hours ago

Heroin

[-] Zorque@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

And vodka, dont forget the vodka.

this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2026

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