Beerball Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 I might be wrong, but I believe he will be dead before he even feels anything. I would rather go this way, than by lethal injection. he is dead
The Dean Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 I'm not a supporter of the death penalty,but if we're gonna have it,I have no problem with carrying it out in this way. It's quick,cheap and no more painful than any other method currently in use. My only question is,why do they aim for the heart instead of the head? I'm not sure it's any cheaper than lethal injection, but I'm with you. If you have a death penalty, there is no reason this shouldn't be an option, IMO. The Electric Chair seems the cruelest to me, but I'm not sure why. Gas chamber also seems like it would cause a lot of suffering before death. (I know some here would applaud that.) What's wrong with the good old guillotine? That seems to be pretty efficient. I'm not a death penalty supporter, but this seems like a good option if you are going to have the state kill people.
Fingon Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 I'm not sure it's any cheaper than lethal injection, but I'm with you. If you have a death penalty, there is no reason this shouldn't be an option, IMO. The Electric Chair seems the cruelest to me, but I'm not sure why. Gas chamber also seems like it would cause a lot of suffering before death. (I know some here would applaud that.) What's wrong with the good old guillotine? That seems to be pretty efficient. I'm not a death penalty supporter, but this seems like a good option if you are going to have the state kill people. Your head actually stays conscious for a few seconds after being cut off.
stevestojan Posted June 18, 2010 Author Posted June 18, 2010 Your head actually stays conscious for a few seconds after being cut off. Turns out it's about 13 seconds. And I always thought that was urban legend bull ****. http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/thefre...ion/a/dyk10.htm
The Dean Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Your head actually stays conscious for a few seconds after being cut off. That makes it cooler! BTW, as far as I know, there is little real proof the head stays conscious after decapitation. Here's a nice little summary discussing the possibility: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1...er-decapitation
Hossage Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 That's exactly what I was wondering. There's gotta be a reason. Anyone? In Mormonism, as in Baal worship, ancient mythology, and freemasonry, some sins must be atoned for with blood that spills upon the ground.
stevestojan Posted June 18, 2010 Author Posted June 18, 2010 In Mormonism, as in Baal worship, ancient mythology, and freemasonry, some sins must be atoned for with blood that spills upon the ground. I'm no gun expert, but I think if you shot him in the face with four .30 cal bullets, there would be some blood spillage.
Assquatch Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Your head actually stays conscious for a few seconds after being cut off. Is your premise that your head is conscious longer after being physically separated from your entire body (including obviously your heart) than it is after your heart has bullets fired through it?
DC Tom Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Turns out it's about 13 seconds. And I always thought that was urban legend bull ****. http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/thefre...ion/a/dyk10.htm Theoretically, if the blade hits low enough on the neck (below the larynx), you can hook up an air source to the trachea and ask the disembodied head "So, how'd it feel?" Guillotines are brutal. They're only humane in comparison to what preceeded them - six or eight whacks to the neck with an axe.
DC Tom Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 That's exactly what I was wondering. There's gotta be a reason. Anyone? The chest is a bigger target than the head.
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Turns out it's about 13 seconds. And I always thought that was urban legend bull ****. http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/thefre...ion/a/dyk10.htm "...rivals who bit each other while their heads were in a bag; all have been cited at some point. One famous tale concerns Charlotte Corday, the killer of Marat, whose cheek supposedly reddened after the executioner slapped it even though, at that point, she was just a severed head being held up to the crowd."
Assquatch Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 That makes it cooler! BTW, as far as I know, there is little real proof the head stays conscious after decapitation. Here's a nice little summary discussing the possibility: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1...er-decapitation Then I received a note from a U.S. Army veteran who had been stationed in Korea. In June 1989 the taxi he and a friend were riding in collided with a truck. My correspondent was pinned in the wreckage. The friend was decapitated. Here's what happened: My friend's head came to rest face up, and (from my angle) upside-down. As I watched, his mouth opened and closed no less than two times. The facial expressions he displayed were first of shock or confusion, followed by terror or grief. I cannot exaggerate and say that he was looking all around, but he did display ocular movement in that his eyes moved from me, to his body, and back to me. He had direct eye contact with me when his eyes took on a hazy, absent expression … and he was dead. Powerful stuff.
McBeane Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Powerful stuff. Gives you chills. I can't even imagine what that would be like if it was really happening to you.
KD in CA Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Not to mention...why no Pay Per View? Charge $30 to watch it. Give the money to the victim's family. Maybe even give some folks reason to think twice before doing something stupid. It's not my bag, but if millions of people watch Jersey Shore, I'm not sure how this would be much worse for the mind. And if people would pay $30 to watch some guy they never heard of get popped, how much do you think they could charge to watch Skoonie and The Situation take a few bullets to the heart?
The Dean Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 Powerful stuff. Tons of anecdotal stuff, but little in the way of scientific confirmation. I'm not dismising the idea, just not totally convinced. And as has already been mentioned. Why would it be different with a shot to the heart?
Whites Bay Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 Tons of anecdotal stuff, but little in the way of scientific confirmation. I'm not dismising the idea, just not totally convinced. And as has already been mentioned. Why would it be different with a shot to the heart? Sorry to add to the anecdotal, Dean, but - working in the cardiac monitoring world - I've watched a few people $#!+ the bed on the table in cardiac arrest, and at ~ 5 litres/minute, it takes a few minutes for the oxygen delivery to the brain to cease. Even with a spastic heart. I'm not saying it's a pretty thing, but blood flow is blood flow, oxygen consumption is oxygen consumption. I can assure you those are some very hectic and focused minutes for the team around the table. God bless 'em. A shot to the head? With multiple high calibre slugs? Whew. That's pretty severe. Residual circulation isn't going to help you a lot there. That would be pretty final, and in a hurry. But I defer my comments to Rubes, of course. Or any other MD on the board. "Car on the Hill" - Joni Mitchell
The Dean Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 Sorry to add to the anecdotal, Dean, but - working in the cardiac monitoring world - I've watched a few people $#!+ the bed on the table in cardiac arrest, and at ~ 5 litres/minute, it takes a few minutes for the oxygen delivery to the brain to cease. Even with a spastic heart. I'm not saying it's a pretty thing, but blood flow is blood flow, oxygen consumption is oxygen consumption. I can assure you those are some very hectic and focused minutes for the team around the table. God bless 'em. A shot to the head? With multiple high calibre slugs? Whew. That's pretty severe. Residual circulation isn't going to help you a lot there. That would be pretty final, and in a hurry. But I defer my comments to Rubes, of course. Or any other MD on the board. "Car on the Hill" - Joni Mitchell No, a shot to the heart. Firing squads shoot at the chest, not the head. Why would the brain be active after a beheading but not after gunshots to the heart? Nice choice of tunes, BTW.
Doc Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 My guess is that a gunshot induces instantaneous unconsciousness, because it's more or less blunt force trauma, from which the victim obviously never recovers. Not unlike being knocked unconscious. A guillotine doesn't induce the same blunt force.
Whites Bay Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 No, a shot to the heart. Firing squads shoot at the chest, not the head. Why would the brain be active after a beheading but not after gunshots to the heart? Nice choice of tunes, BTW. Okay, I'm just going to work logically here. I have no expertise in this area. In the event of a "humane" execution, I guess one would aim for the heart because the thorax is a bigger target, and there are lot more vital organs to hit. You're going to "win". And the rib cage is going to contain the explosion. Less messy. Aiming for the head...uh...well, more "bang for the buck". But it's a smaller target, and 5 of 6 sharpshooters hitting the head with .30 calibre slugs? Yuck. Think "watermelon dropped from a 4-story building". "Lay Around the Shanty" - Jonathan Edwards
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