Jesus Mary and Joseph on a piggy powered pogo stick!
As reasonable human beings we don't kill ANY animal by torturing it to death and it stains us all every time we participate in such activity,
The argument that we may be executing an innocent person so we need to do a decent job of it just astonishes me for it's lack of insight. You fix a bad job by doing a better job of carrying out the final portion of that bad job? Really?
The medical community refusing to participate in any way steps so far into the unethical practice it gives one pause about wasted education! If the medical community (and I realize it is not monolithic or of unanimous opinion)will not help provide a decent death when that is precisely what is necessary in a specific situation it is shirking a substantial portion of it's responsibility. Doctors routinely participate in humane death of terminal patients, and not infrequently when other ill considered interventions have produced a situation in which they have shortened a patient's life before hand. If humane and efficient execution is necessary to society, and I believe it is, then the medical community need to come up with rational, ethical and most importantly consistent arguments to the contrary or help. As stated above, the means and the skill required for that end are readily available.
The reason for execution is not retribution! If any of you accept retribution as a reason for execution, stand up and make a rational argument against Islamic law which is based on retribution. Execution is for when we have people just too dangerous to ever take a chance on them getting loose. Ever.
In my life I have seen a number of people totally lacking in comprehension of what they are doing to people. Sometimes you can just see that they are so damaged they'll eventually commit a capital crime or be killed in the attempt. Society has a right to protect itself from such people and until we mature enough to shed idiotic ideas about retribution we'll not only continue with executions that demean us all, but we will also continue to see really damaged people commit really horrific crimes.
