Apparently, It Has To Be Both Cruel AND Unusual

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pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
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It's also cribbed practically word for word from an old George Carlin bit.

So, er, is it straight comment or satire? I feel so embarrassed that I can't even tell.

Apparently "Kill them all, let God sort 'em out" goes back to the Catholic Church slaughtering the Cathars. Though my source for that is not formal education but playing Medieval Total War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caedite_eos._Novit_enim_Dominus_qui_sunt_eius.

It also describes my occasional feelings about motorists.
 

Sunburn74

Diamond Member
Oct 5, 2009
5,027
2,595
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I don't believe in the death penalty (other than for treason or mass murder) but I actually agree with the conservative court here.

It would be highly unlikely that the cavernous hemangiomas in this throat would burst from the agents given in the death penalty, even more unlikely that he would be conscious enough to suffer anything, and furthermore unlikely he would have pain if he was conscious.. The agents used cause respiratory depression predominantly. You go to sleep and don't wake up. Some people snore if they have sleep apnea. Even more so the agents block sensations of pain as well as sensations of air hunger (blocking J receptors in the lungs).

If he was on hospice in a hospital or some facility actively dying from the very same cavernous hemangioma, these are the very same agents that would be given by compassionate doctors to ensure he has a painless, comfortable death.

I think one can argue whether a guy in alabama getting the death penalty is being treated fairly given the incredible racial prejudice behind the use of the death penalty in the south but I don't think you can argue that he would be at undue risk for excess suffering from the use of these drugs.
 
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brycejones

Lifer
Oct 18, 2005
26,133
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Just kill them all...let the gods sort them out.

I'd like to see the use of the death penalty expanded to include burglars, armed robbers, rapists, car thieves, and even reposters...

Make ALL executions public events...sell tickets, put it on pay-per-view, make some money on the process...I don't care if it's hanging, decapitation by one means or another, or old sparky...let everyone see what happens when you commit crimes against other people.
We no longer live in the dark ages.
 
Nov 25, 2013
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Upvote suspended in the absence of clarification whether the original comment was meant satirically or not. If it wasn't then I agree with this point.

It seems to be a fairly common statement hereabouts. I took it as being serious.
 

Blackjack200

Lifer
May 28, 2007
15,995
1,685
126
So, er, is it straight comment or satire? I feel so embarrassed that I can't even tell.

Apparently "Kill them all, let God sort 'em out" goes back to the Catholic Church slaughtering the Cathars. Though my source for that is not formal education but playing Medieval Total War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caedite_eos._Novit_enim_Dominus_qui_sunt_eius.

It also describes my occasional feelings about motorists.

The bit:

...And I'm not talking about soft, American executions, like lethal injection. I'm talking about fucking crucifixion folks! Let's bring back crucifixions. A form of capital punishment the Christians and Jews of America can really appreciate. And I'd go a little further, I'd crucify people upside-down. Like Saint Peter, feet up, head down. And naked. I'd have naked upside-down crucifixions on TV once a week at halftime on the Monday Night Football game! Halftime! Monday Night! The Monday Night Crucifixions! You'd have people tuning in, don't even care about Football! Wouldn't you like to hear Dan Dierdorf explain why the nails have to go in at a certain angle? And I'll guarantee you one thing. You start execut- you start nailing one white banker per week to a big wooden cross, you're going to see that drug traffic begin to slow down pretty fucking quick. Pretty fucking quick- you won't even be able to buy drugs in schools and prisons anymore!
Now, I don't care about capital punishment one way or another 'cuz I know it dosn't do anything. It doesn't do anything, 'cept maybe satisfy a kind of Biblical need for revenge. You know, if you read The Bible, you see that it's full of retrebution and revenge. So really, capital punishment is kind of a religious ritual. It's a purification right. It's a modern sacrament. And as long as that's true, I say, let's liven it up a little! I honestly believe that if you make the death penalty a little more entertaining and learn to market it correctly, you just might be able to raise enough money to balance the stupid fucking budget!! Balance the stupid fucking budget!!

And don't forget, the polls show the American people want capital punishment, and they want a balanced budget. And I think even in a fake democracy, people ought to get what they want once in a while. Just to feed this illusion that they're really in charge. Let's use capital punishment the same way we use sports and television in this country, to distract people and take their minds off how bad they're being fucked by the upper one percent. Now, unfortunately, unfortunately Monday Night Football doesn't last long enough. What we really need is year-round capital punishment on TV every night with sponsors. Gotta have sponsors. I'm sure as long as we're killing people Marlboro Cigarettes and Dow Chemical would be proud to participate! Proud to participate! Balance the stupid fucking budget!!

And- and let me say this to you my interesting judaeo-christian friends. Not only- not only do I recommend crucifixions, I'd be in favor of bringing back beheadings!! Huh? Beheadings on TV, slow-motion, instant replay? And maybe you could let the heads roll down a little hill. And fall into one of five numbered holes. Let the people at home gamble on which hole the head is going to fall into. And you do it in a stadium so the mob can gamble on it too. Raise a little more money. And if you want to expand the violence a little longer to sell a few more commercials, instead of using an axe, you do the beheadings with a hand saw! Hey, don't bail out on me now, God damnit! The blood is already on our hands, all we're talking about is a matter of degree. You want something a little more delicate, we'll do the beheadings with an olive fork. That would be nice. And it would take a good God damn long time. There's a lot of good things we could be doing.
When's the last time we burned someone at the stake? It's been too long! Here's another form of capital punishment, comes out of a nice, rich, religious tradition. Burning people at the stake. Sponsor: Britchford Charcoal. And you put it on TV on Sunday mornings. The Sunday Morning Evangelical Send Us An Offering Praise Jesus Human Bonfire! You don't think that would get big ratings? In this sick fucking country?! Shit you'd have people skipping church to watch this stuff! And you take the money they send in and the offerings and you use it to balance the budget.

What about boiling people in oil? Boy those were the days weren't they? You get the oil going real good, you know, a nice high rolling boil. And then slowly, at the end of a rope, you lower the perpatrator headfirst into the boiling oil. Huh? You talk about fun shit! And just to encourage citizen participation, you let the mob in the stadium control the speed of the rope. Good, clean, wholesome family entertainment. The kids'll love it. The kids'll love it. And at the same time they're enjoying themselves, we're teaching then a nice, Christian moral lesson. Boiling people in oil. Sponsor: Crisco! And maybe, maybe instead of boiling all these guys every now and then you could french-fry a couple of them, you know. French-fried felons. Dip a guy in egg batter, just for a goof, you know? Kind of a Tempura thing, huh? Jeffrey Dahmer neverthought of this shit did he?! Jeffrey Dahmer, eat you heart out!! Which is an interesting thought, in and of itself!

https://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/george_carlin/capital_punishment-lyrics-220555.html
 
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Lifer
May 30, 2008
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It seems to be a fairly common statement hereabouts. I took it as being serious.

Yeah, I know, but the reference to George Carlin confused me! I guess I took BoomerD's comment as more subtle than it was.

That seems to me to be one of the main arguments against the death penalty (just as it is against the use of torture)? It's what it does to the rest of us. Even if a murderer is an irremediable scumbag, then surely that makes it even less worth the rest of us degrading ourselves to deal with them?
 

senseamp

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
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I am sure if a Republican state wanted to disembowel, these Federalist Society goons would rubber stamp it.