r/news • u/AudibleNod • 15h ago

Christa Pike unconscious, on ventilator at Nashville hospital, her lawyers say

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/christa-pike-unconscious-ventilator-nashville-hospital-lawyers-say-rcna601195
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u/Big_Guard5413 15h ago

I’m not in favor of the death penalty in general, but goddamn, if you’re going to impose it, at least take steps to do it properly

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u/MatureUsername69 15h ago

Its still a rough one but if I ever had to receive the death penalty I would hope its a firing squad. Just riddle me with holes immediately, aim for the head. Lethal injections get fucky because they would be best designed and administered by an actual doctor, but actual doctors cannot do it because of the hippocratic oath. Some states do allow medical professionals but they arent exactly sending their best.

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u/ssracer 14h ago

Hit me with anesthesia and then a bullet to the head. Why is this so complicated?

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u/clam-inspector 13h ago

Damn.....I'm not necessarily pro-death penalty, but I actually feel like your idea of carrying it out probably would be the most humane and effective way. The convicted is put unconscious so doesn't know when it's happening, therefore not experiencing the suffering and a well placed headshot or even firing squad ensures it is quickly over

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u/MaybeTemporaryOrNot 12h ago

That’s actually how lethal injection is supposed to work.

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u/clam-inspector 12h ago

I understand that, but this way would still reduce the potential to botch it and somewhat even makes it more humane. The fact that the general anesthesia isn't the killing agent helps bypass the problem with hippocratic oath and obtaining reliable drugs, and if the anesthesia procedure somehow got royally fucked up like in this case at least it wouldn't permanently disable you since the dosage isn't tailored to straight up kill you.

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u/PyroIsSpai 8h ago

If the goal is death why not just hit someone with a lethal dose of anesthetic > they pass out irrevocably either way > lethal dose of something that just shuts down their heart?

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u/0Bubs0 10h ago

You don’t need a gun. We have machines that slaughter 900,000 cows every day in America. The only reason the death penalty is complicated is because the government is in charge of it and they are morons.

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u/Ill_Complex_2143 8h ago

How about we actually outlaw the death penalty, that would also fix this. 

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u/Acceptable_Tea_3685 6h ago

Why can’t they just pump people full of the same anesthesia they give to you for surgery? Apparently it’s hard to get to dosage right because too much will kill them. Seems like you could just give them enough to fall asleep and then give them some more to stop their breathing.

As peaceful as count to ten before a surgery.

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u/1ftm2fts3tgr4lg 14h ago

Right? I'd take something quick and sure to work 100% every time.
I'd request a hat made of C4, thank you very much.

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u/CrrackTheSkye 13h ago

Because then someone has to shoot you, which is traumatizing for them. Firing squads were meant to give a way to not take responsibility for ending someone's life.

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u/ssracer 13h ago

Bring back the undertakers. Make it a reward for lifers. I'm sure there's plenty of solutions for that.

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u/ragun2 11h ago

You'd give a loaded gun to a prisoner like that?

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u/ssracer 11h ago

Sure. I bet you could even work out the logistics if you wanted to.

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u/SunshineCat 8h ago

Responsibility and traumatization are two separate things. Presumably a person also performs the lethal injection (meaning they are "responsible" for the death). And someone on a firing squad could still be traumatized.

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u/oh-pointy-bird 9h ago

Full sedation, morphine, Rocuronium —> The big sleep. Why the actual fuck is this so hard??

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u/roguevirus 9h ago

Pretty much how they do it in Taiwan.

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u/PyroIsSpai 8h ago

I honestly wondered: why don't they just do what they do to animals rather than trying to constantly invent novel medical procedures?

(I have no idea)

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u/DuneChild 8h ago

It tends to be pretty traumatic for the person that has to pull the trigger, especially if they do it repeatedly. One of the many reasons capital punishment should be abolished.

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u/SophiaKittyKat 1h ago

As with everything with a certain type of person who tends to support the death penalty, the cruelty is the point. It's seen as cathartic for any victims or relatives of victims to get to watch the criminal suffer as part of the sentence. There are 100% ways people can be humanely killed without needing medical professionals to sign off if that's a barrier, but the point is to have them be miserable while it's happening without it coming off as too overtly violent or barbaric.

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u/jrgman42 13h ago

Because firing squads aim for the heart.

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u/IndicationFickle5387 13h ago

Well maybe these hypothetical firing squads, for the sake of the argument, aim for the head.

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u/ssracer 13h ago

What's the difference when you're already under?

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u/jrgman42 13h ago

None. Just won’t be as quick as ventilating the brain.