Reprieve - New Campaign Urges pharma firms to sign anti-execution ‘Hippocratic oath’

[papertoad]

Legal action charity Reprieve has today launched a campaign calling on pharmaceutical companies to sign a ‘Pharmaceutical Hippocratic oath’ under which they pledge not to become involved in executions by lethal injection.

With prisons in the US becoming increasingly desperate as supplies of key execution drugs start to run short, Reprieve is calling

Comments

[mirhanda]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm opposed to the death penalty, but meanwhile prisoners are still being executed. I feel like if it's going to happen, I'd rather they have a humane injection that be electrocuted, gassed or hung.

[the_glow_worm]

The drug is cause for particular concern, as it renders prisoners unable to move or speak, and therefore means that, should the anaesthetic fail, they will be unable to signal that they are suffering agonising pain as the final, lethal substance is injected.

I feel like that is the problem with that line of thought.

[mirhanda]

I've heard of this happening in surgery too. How horrible to be unable to signal the doctors that you feel every cut and clamp! Back, oh 10 or 15 years ago when I used to watch the news magazine shows, they had an episode of people being paralyzed but not anesthetized for surgery. *shudder*

Back to the matter at hand though, are they suggesting just using the lethal drugs and not the paralytic at all? Because to me, the lethal injection still sounds like a better way to die (if I had to choose) than being electrocuted, gassed or hung, which I think are the only other choices. (And hanging only if you live in Utah, or some state out west, not sure.) Ideally, (at least in my ideal world, I realize some people disagree) the death penalty would be eliminated everywhere, but until that point...?

[mephisto5]

IIRC, if done properly, hanging is quick, because it breaks the neck rather than suffocates the person.

I'm not sure why a bullet to the head isn't an option tbh. Seems like the quickest way to go and a lot cheaper than the drugs.