South Carolina to use execution by Firing Squad
- Thread starter DWalt
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I seem to recall that in one Utah case many years ago they reported that all but one gun was loaded with blanks.
The only purpose I see could be so others don't know for certain who fired the fatal round(s). Of course the shooters will know what they fired, and any astute observers that are watching for recoil.
The only purpose I see could be so others don't know for certain who fired the fatal round(s). Of course the shooters will know what they fired, and any astute observers that are watching for recoil.
My high school buddy's brother was veterinarian. We asked him "What does that do to people?" He replied "The same thing it does to dogs."
The most humane method of execution is the guillotine. It just looks bad. If we're going to revert to prior centuries' methods, why not this big blade?
I know that when I am shooting at deer that I never seem to notice the recoil. I imagine shooting a person would enhance that effect. It gives the shooter the ability to tell himself he shot the blank. It seems that no matter how much of a son of a bitch someone is, killing another human has it's costs. May none of us be put in the position where it is necessary.
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DWalt
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The last known guillotine use was 1977, in France. Humane but messy. France abolished capital punishment shortly thereafter. One of the most interesting books I ever read was about the British executioner Albert Pierrepoint. From the early 1930s into the 1950s he executed something like 500-600 criminals, including a number of convicted WW2 Nazis. When was not out hanging people, he ran a London pub that was very successful. There was a movie made about him, but I have never seen it.
He learned the trade by apprenticing with his father and uncle who were also hangmen.
Then there was Stalin’s chief executioner, Vasily Blokhin. His victims run well into the thousands. His method was a .25 pistol shot to the brain. He specialized in mass executions of hundreds at a time. Allegedly he carried a briefcase containing multiple Walther .25 pistols and loaded magazines plus a leather butcher’s apron.
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Folks need to see 'messy.' I made sure my daughters helped in skinning, cutting up, and grinding meat from all kinds of game - they were never confused about where meat comes from. If folks are in favor of capital punishment, they should see what it is while ensuring no inhumane methods, IMO.
When the blade severs the head, theory is the brain still functions for a second or 2. Not that I am all that concerned about the condemned's mental anguish. A good brain shot pretty much insures the end of any thought processes.
Rope is cheap and recyclable and reusable.
Trees are free.
If it takes 5 minutes for the condemned to die, too bad, so sad.
I have 0.0% cares about those on death row, except their sentences are carried out ASAP.
Trees are free.
If it takes 5 minutes for the condemned to die, too bad, so sad.
I have 0.0% cares about those on death row, except their sentences are carried out ASAP.
I'd hope not.
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DWalt
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I went on a private tour of the then-new main Ohio State Pen in Lucasville about 50 years ago, before any prisoners were transferred from Columbus. I knew the new assistant warden. That tour included the execution chamber. The thing that I remember best was the electric chair wasn’t attached to a big knife switch like you see in the movies. It was just a push button in a box on the wall, like a motor starter switch. It was operated from inside a small enclosed area about the size of a phone booth. I don’t believe the chair was ever used as Ohio changed to lethal injection shortly after the prison opened for business.
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Isn't it the other.......
...way round? One has a blank. All anybody else knows is that they themselves shot a blank or a live round, not what anybody else did.
...way round? One has a blank. All anybody else knows is that they themselves shot a blank or a live round, not what anybody else did.
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DWalt
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I did not sit in the Ohio chair although I could have. From what I saw, Ohio dropped electrocution as an execution method long ago. Texas has (maybe had) a prison museum in Huntsville. I visited it once about 30 years ago, do not know if it is still there or not. They had Old Sparky on display, along with lots of other interesting items, worth a visit. I remember seeing a display of hundreds of shanks.
Jeff423
US Veteran
"never send to know for whom the bell tolls"...
Why even use human shooters....I saw on Forged in Fire they shot a handgun at a sword and the sword cut the bullet in half...With tech like that robots could fire the weapon and no humans need be involved.
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DWalt
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I remember something about a robotic firing squad, made in the 19th Century. It was a group of maybe five rifles attached to a rack with some arrangement of a cord mechanism which caused all triggers to be pulled simultaneously. All rifles were pre-aimed to the same point. I don’t remember what activated the mechanism. I’ll see if I can find it.
This is it, in Nevada. chevron-right
This adds a little more detail. 1913: Andriza Mircovich, by a shooting-machine | Executed Today
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I agree. 6 or 10 rounds of CF and all the associated furnishings surely aren't really necessary (?) Mobile vets here use a .22 to put down animals, and the BC Conservation Service often uses a Ruger .22 mag rifle, even apparently for (trapped) bears. Had a deer with a broken leg next door a few years ago and they dispatched it quickly with one shot from about 20 yds.
Although sometimes outrage leads me to indulge in "vengeance, preferably as messy/cruel as possible" as some here have endorsed, ultimately I cannot go there. If, as many believe, these people will spend eternity in hell, we should just get them there as quickly and efficiently as possible!
The only problem with capital punishment is if the accused is wrongly convicted, and this has been known to happen. With better forensic analysis nowadays, such as advances in DNA testing, this should reduce the chances but... No perfect answer here. It is apparently questionable as to how effective it is in discouraging others, as was pointed out I think on a thread on drug cartels recently. ("We've been executing people for murder for centuries but they still do it" or something like that. But there's no question that it cures recidivism.
Many years ago I read of a doctor who attended a guillotine execution c.1900 and he shouted at the executed man right after the blade fell. Apparently there was a sllght reactionsteelslaver said:
As to Albert Pierrepoint, I didn't see the movie but have read about him. An extraordinary career and a consummate professional. I believe, though, that he ultimately came out against capital punishment.
OK- sermon over,. Time for a late dinner.
