Beheading is only marginally less humane than other forms of capital punishment...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Beheading is only marginally less humane than other forms of capital punishment including lethal injection. The saving grace if you can say that is that at least the persons being executed in the United States did something or very likely did something really, really wrong...


It's time for the U S A to end capital punishment...


Just needed to get that off my chest...

[FrodosPet]

1. You are correct

I will admit that I hear of cases of murder so egregious that emotionally, I want the perpetrator to suffer before they die.

But that is an emotional reaction, not a rational one. I feel pride that my home state was the first government in the English-speaking world to outlaw capital punishment, and has never executed anyone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Michigan

Capital punishment was technically legal in the U.S. State of Michigan from statehood in 1837, but was abolished in 1846. Michigan is the one of the few states never to have executed anyone after admission to the Union.

Michigan's death penalty history is unusual in contrast to other States. Michigan was the first English-speaking government in the world to totally abolish the death penalty for ordinary crimes. The Michigan State Legislature voted to do so on May 18, 1846, and this has remained in law since. Although the death penalty was formally retained as the punishment for treason until 1963, no person has ever been convicted or indeed tried for treason against Michigan, and therefore Michigan has not executed any person since statehood.

~ snip ~

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I certainly can understand how someone would want to see somebody who has taken a life...

I certainly can understand how someone would want to see somebody who has unjustly and in some cases maliciously taken a life have his or life taken. But that is an emotional response and not a rational one. The state shouldn't be in the killing business.

[rock]

3. To put a slightly fine point on it

The state shouldn't be in the business of killing it's citizens.

[drray23]

4. for the record

I am against the death penalty. However I think that beheading by a guillotine like the french used to do is far more humane than injecting somebody with drugs and having them writhe in pain for half an hour before they die.

Now, being hacked with a knife is another matter.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Knowing the exact moment of your demise has to be scary regardless of the method./NT

[Cleita]

6. My thoughts exactly. Sawing some persons head off with a knife

is cruel and barbaric.

[Nye Bevan]

7. The way the Saudis do it is way more humane than lethal injection,

at least, the recent cases where poking and prodding for a vein took over an hour and the condemned person was writhing in agony for a considerable period of time before dying. I saw a video of a Saudi execution and the swordsman was so skilled it was literally over with one quick stroke.

Of course if we want to lecture the rest of the world about this stuff we need to abolish capital punishment ourselves.