Florida Rep Wants The Firing Squad Back

[insertNameHere]

Depending on the crime I wonder why we waste so much fucking time making sure monsters die humanely. Call me a sociopath but I would prefer to dump the serial killers, rapists and mass murders into a battle royal situation where they got to fight to see who got a decent meal before getting thrown halfway into a wood chipper.

[Andara Bledin]

Because we're better than them.

It's just that simple.

^-.-^

[Hyena Dandy]

PE, I disagree with saying its the government trying to force the states to shut down lethal injections. It seems to me that the federal government has nothing to do with it.

Its not uncommon for only one or two companies to be allowed to process a certain material - As far as I know, only Coca Cola can process Cocaine in the US, and any tests using Cocaine have to use Coca Cola cocaine. That seems like standard operating procedure to me, not a government mandate on ending executions.

This is the company's decision not to sell to states with the death penalty, not a government conspiracy. Whoever made the decision not to sell made it of their own accord.

If the company had refused to sell to states, and then the government stepped in and said they were the only ones who could make it, THEN I might see accusations of a conspiracy of some sort.

Additionally, if that happened, and it was a government conspiracy, it couldn't be one to create a dictatorship. A dictatorship by definition has only one person making decisions. Unless something has changed that I wasn't aware of, the President does not make the decision on things like which company can process something. That's written into the regulatory legislation, which is passed by congress. The President signs or doesn't sign, and he pushes for one law or another as a matter of course, but if someone was trying to create an American dictatorship, they would have to be Senators and Congressmen.

All in all

Its not a conspiracy
If it is a conspiracy its not a governmental one
And if it is a government conspiracy, its not to create a dictatorship.

[BlaqueKatt]

The FDA is NOT a political organization. It is not their business which states support or do not support the death penalty. Using agencies such as the FDA however for circumvent this process is not following that process.

um it IS the FDA's job to regulate how drugs are utilized, it is ILLEGAL to use a drug for anything the FDA has NOT APPROVED it for.


plus there's this which has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FDA:

Foreign health authorities prohibit selling sodium thiopental if it is to be used in lethal injections, and they will not buy drugs from pharma companies who sell sodium thiopental for that purpose. As a result, the sole US manufacturer, Hospira, has discontinued production of the drug, and no foreign manufacturer will sell to the US.

how is this the FDA's fault exactly?

[PepperElf]

you need to read up on the fda and lethal injections then.

[Gravekeeper]

you need to read up on the fda and lethal injections then.

You need to stop moving goal posts.

Reading up as you put it, has taught me that, if anything, the FDA turned a blind eye for a while and let them to import the drug from an dubious and unlicensed sources in the UK. One of which was run from a driving school. Surprise surprise, it was expired and ineffective. Didn't stop Georgia and Arizona from using it illegally anyway.

Now they can't even manufacture the drug anyway, because the European Union won't allow drugs to be exported if they're used for capital punishment. So get back out on the field and move those goal posts again I guess.

[FArchivist]

This company has decided they will NOT sell it to ANY state that supports the death penalty.

In effect this company is trying to FORCE states to forfeit their right to have a death penalty.

No, the company has decided that they will decide who they will sell their product too. This is well within their rights to do so; commitment to capitalism means you decide who buys your product so long as it does not break any laws.

Unless, of course, you want to FORCE them to sell to all comers, but that's usually called 'socialism' or 'communism'.

"Free market" is bullshit.

When no one else is even ALLOWED to make it except the one company that now refuses to let it be used for lethal injections... That is NOT free market.

That is the GOVERNMENT trying to force the hand.

Except there is no US government intervention in this at all.

Unless you're meaning the UK government or the Italian government?

What they are ignoring is that the Federal Government is trying to hog-tie state rights. STATES decide for themselves the death penalty by LAW. The government shouldn't be using things like the FDA to impose its will and attempt to nullify individual state laws.

Except that the FDA isn't trying to impose its will on anyone.

You seem to misunderstand something here. Sodium Pentothal is trademarked and patented by Hospira. That means they are the ONLY people legally allowed to produce that drug unless they license it to someone else. That isn't governed by the FDA at all - that's government by the Patents Office.

The FDA is not preventing anyone from producing it. They ARE protecting the company's patent by not licensing anybody else to produce it, but if they do license it, they are BREAKING THE LAW. The law says that the drug is Hospira's to with as they please until such time as the patent is expired.

You seem to be REMARKABLY uninformed on the whole issue.

Depending on the crime I wonder why we waste so much fucking time making sure monsters die humanely. Call me a sociopath but I would prefer to dump the serial killers, rapists and mass murders into a battle royal situation where they got to fight to see who got a decent meal before getting thrown halfway into a wood chipper.

It's called the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment.

Jesus Christ, we're not a fascist dictatorship who applauds Al Qaeda torture methods as acceptable.

[mikoyan29]

Personally, I think if we want to go through with this stuff...why stop at a firing squad? We should bring crucifixions back....I'm sure the fundies would go nuts over that one.

[telecom_goddess]

Frankly this lethal injection route is ridiculous. I'm for the death penalty in cases of proven beyond a shadow of a doubt murder. Fuck letting them go to sleep, bring the firing squad back and let them have a public execution. Maybe seeing that will deter people from future crimes a little bit.

I'm getting tired of prisoners getting coddled they need to have a no bullshit speedy punishment and get them out of the way.

Unpopular opinion probably but oh well.

[Gravekeeper]

Frankly this lethal injection route is ridiculous. I'm for the death penalty in cases of proven beyond a shadow of a doubt murder. Fuck letting them go to sleep, bring the firing squad back and let them have a public execution. Maybe seeing that will deter people from future crimes a little bit.

Yeah, let's let civilization as a whole slide backwards for the sake of petty vengeance! Also, when was the last time there was any murder case that was "beyond a shadow of a doubt"? Unless you've got HD video or you had a 20 minute firefight with the cops in broad daylight, there's always a shadow of a doubt. -.-

I'm getting tired of prisoners getting coddled they need to have a no bullshit speedy punishment and get them out of the way.

Who the Hell is being coddled in the American prison system? Overcrowded, full of gang violence, 1 in 4 chance of being made someone's bitch and god help you if you're in prison in the south. Yeah, look at those smug fuckers, being coddled in their warehouse bunkbeds. >.>

[Hyena Dandy]

Yeah, let's let civilization as a whole slide backwards for the sake of petty vengeance

GK, while I agree with the sentiment, I think you're taking it a little far. I don't think public executions would be sliding civilization back. Civilization has a lot of factors in it, and the fact it was done in the past doesn't make it necessarily bad. That said, though, I could only ever support the death penalty in a case where it could be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt not only that they DID it, but that they intend to repeat it. That is a completely impossible demand, so I can't in good conscience support the death penalty. I don't see a difference, though, between a public execution and a private execution.

However, I think a public firing squad is just stupid. Ricochets and all that

[SkullKing]

Correct me if I am wrong, but people executed by firing squad in the U.S. nowadays, are people who choose the firing squad, no?

If so I believe it is humane to let the convict choose the manne rof their death, even if it wouldn´t be the choice you would make.

[Rapscallion]

The one who comes up on google searches for firing squads etc (can't be bothered looking up his name) was choosing it to make a political statement. It's nothing to do with humanity.

Rapscallion

[Gravekeeper]

GK, while I agree with the sentiment, I think you're taking it a little far. I don't think public executions would be sliding civilization back.

You don't think publically killing someone isn't a step backwards? Are you serious?

[Panacea]

When no one else is even ALLOWED to make it except the one company that now refuses to let it be used for lethal injections... That is NOT free market.

That is the GOVERNMENT trying to force the hand.

The FDA is NOT a political organization. It is not their business which states support or do not support the death penalty.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Let's step back a minute and talk about just what it is the FDA does.

The FDA makes sure our supply of medicines is safe, and prevents scam artists from selling quack cures or quack medical instruments.

All medications sold in the US are sold under patent. Those patents last a particular amount of time, then expire and generic producers can made that medication. However, they must do so under FDA regulation. Many drug companies choose not to make certain medications because quality is difficult to control, or because profit margins are not high enough. Even generic drug makers don't make some drugs that have very little call or need. This is a major problem as some vital medications are getting harder and harder to obtain, and the prices are skyrocketing. However, the FDA does not have anything to do with that problem. They just make sure the medications that are made are safe.

The FDA hasn't told anyone they can't make sodium thiopental. No one chooses to, in the US. However, imported medications usually must meet FDA standards. There's an exception for drugs used for lethal injection. Death row inmates have actually sued claiming the FDA can't make this exception and allow in sodium thiopental that doesn't meet FDA standards. Courts have not ruled on this.

However, the EU is refusing to allow the export to the US, making the point moot. States have already started using alternative drugs, and the FDA has done nothing to stop them.

um it IS the FDA's job to regulate how drugs are utilized, it is ILLEGAL to use a drug for anything the FDA has NOT APPROVED it for.

Not true, actually. There is extensive "off label use" of all kinds of medications. Once a medication is FDA approved for one purpose, physicians are free to use it for other purposes. The FDA does not regulate the practice of medicine. An example of this I often share with my students is terbutaline and nefedipine. The former is a bronchodilator, the later a calcium channel blocker used in heart patients. Both are used "off label" to stop pre term labor, quite safely.

The FDA is not preventing anyone from producing it. They ARE protecting the company's patent by not licensing anybody else to produce it, but if they do license it, they are BREAKING THE LAW. The law says that the drug is Hospira's to with as they please until such time as the patent is expired.

Sort of. The FDA does not license anyone to produce medications. They do certify that the medications are manufactured to standards and are safe. They won't do that for a company that does not have a license from a patentholder (which is granted by the patentholder) or unless the drug has gone generic.

I'm getting tired of prisoners getting coddled they need to have a no bullshit speedy punishment and get them out of the way.

Unpopular opinion probably but oh well.

Not so much unpopular, more so incorrect. Having worked as a correctional nurse I can assure you prison inmates are not coddled. It is a bleak, harsh, dangerous environment to live in. It creates despair and robs you of your humanity . . . this includes the employees. I don't wish that life on anyone.