Arizona makes plans to use Zyklon B gas for executions

[exchemist]

The state of Arizona is making plans to use Zyklon B gas to execute two people. Zyklon B is the gas used to murder Jews by the Nazis in their concentration camps.

Arizona prepares to use Zyklon B to execute two inmates, provoking outrage

Vote Republican! You know it makes sense.

 

[exchemist]

I found that hard to believe but the story is accurate. AZ wants to use hydrogen cyanide for executions.

I share your feelings about this development. It's a horrible way to die. Some examples about how horrible it is are in this story which also notes that this is not new for AZ having done this before - but apparently with little media coverage.

I'm trying very hard not to draw politics into this but find it impossible not to reflect on that topic.

Good point, death from HCN is far from painless.

I suppose they may be motivated to try it by the difficulty I understand these states are having in finding any chemical supplier willing to supply the drugs used for lethal injections. HCN is a fairly standard chemical substance, so would be easier to obtain, I imagine, possibly through small distributors without the public profile of the manufacturer. Certainly, if I were the CEO of a chemical company invited to bid for the contract, I would decline.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Good point, death from HCN is far from painless.

I suppose they may be motivated to try it by the difficulty I understand these states are having in finding any chemical supplier willing to supply the drugs used for lethal injections. HCN is a fairly standard chemical substance, so would be easier to obtain, I imagine, possibly through small distributors without the public profile of the manufacturer. Certainly, if I were the CEO of a chemical company invited to bid for the contract, I would decline.

Unfortunately as you pointed out it is a fairly standard compound. There are plenty of suppliers out there and some will have no problem with providing Arizona with the needed compounds.

 

[Stevicus]

No, but in the US context, you might have trouble to find the volunteers to act as a firing squad.

Actually, I think it would actually be quite easy to find volunteers for a firing squad in the U.S. They'd be lined up around the block.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Actually, I think it would actually be quite easy to find volunteers for a firing squad in the U.S. They'd be lined up around the block.

Which might make my intentional miss a protest that would not be noticed.

 

[Windwalker]

That I would leave up entirely to the victims and their families. I feel it's their call.

If it's a sense of vengeance that the criminal justice system should kill prisoners for, does that really sound like a civilized society? And if vengeance is what it's really about, then why make it easy? Why not slowly burn them to death with green wood, and have crowds of jeering haters mock them as they are being killed?

Now that really scratches that vengeance itch better, doesn't it? Or better still, give the victim's family spears and axes and let them hack the prisoner to death. Best yet, no? How is it really a satisfactory revenge, unless you get some of their blood on your own hands? Next execution, have a family member pull the switch? Death is tasty, apparently.

 

[Stevicus]

Yes, it is unfortunately dishonest reporting. From what I have seen they are going to use hydrogen cyanide. Hydrogen cyanide was a component of Zyklon B, but there were other ingredients too.

Why do they do this? What Arizona is doing is bad enough as it is. When false reporting is done and then it is exposed weakens the story terribly.

Edited for clarity.

Yes, that's what it seems like. Arizona and other states had used lethal gas as a capital punishment for decades, and it's only now that someone brings this up? Arizona stopped using lethal gas and switched to lethal injection, although state law permits inmates who committed their crimes prior to 1992 to opt for lethal gas. There are only two people on death row to whom that would apply, and it's because of that that Arizona was getting the old gas chamber ready for that purpose. All of this had been reported back in April, and it wasn't really any great secret.

The story in this thread focuses on the actual chemicals they purchased to make the gas. I don't know the chemical composition of Zyklon-B or how it compares with gases used for executions in the U.S. I'm also not aware that the law requires any specific chemicals to be used or not used; my impression is that such matters would be left to the discretion of the DOC, who would likely just go along with whatever works.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what the significance is. If they're trying to suggest that Arizona Republicans are a bunch of Nazis, then that may be an example of yellow journalism. I'll admit we do have a reputation for right-wing politics, but that's been slowly changing.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Yes, that's what it seems like. Arizona and other states had used lethal gas as a capital punishment for decades, and it's only now that someone brings this up? Arizona stopped using lethal gas and switched to lethal injection, although state law permits inmates who committed their crimes prior to 1992 to opt for lethal gas. There are only two people on death row to whom that would apply, and it's because of that that Arizona was getting the old gas chamber ready for that purpose. All of this had been reported back in April, and it wasn't really any great secret.

The story in this thread focuses on the actual chemicals they purchased to make the gas. I don't know the chemical composition of Zyklon-B or how it compares with gases used for executions in the U.S. I'm also not aware that the law requires any specific chemicals to be used or not used; my impression is that such matters would be left to the discretion of the DOC, who would likely just go along with whatever works.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what the significance is. If they're trying to suggest that Arizona Republicans are a bunch of Nazis, then that may be an example of yellow journalism. I'll admit we do have a reputation for right-wing politics, but that's been slowly changing.

Too many sources broke Godwin's Law. By doing so one loses the debate. I oppose the death penalty, but the sort of.arguing the various sources that made this false.claim are doing will ultimately make the death penalty more acceptable.

 

[Stevicus]

If it's a sense of vengeance that the criminal justice system should kill prisoners for, does that really sound like a civilized society? And if vengeance is what it's really about, then why make it easy? Why not slowly burn them to death with green wood, and have crowds of jeering haters mock them as they are being killed?

Now that really scratches that vengeance itch better, doesn't it? Or better still, give the victim's family spears and axes and let them hack the prisoner to death. Best yet, no? How is it really a satisfactory revenge, unless you get some of their blood on your own hands? Next execution, have a family member pull the switch? Death is tasty, apparently.

I think that may be one of the reasons they did away with public executions. Now, they happen behind closed doors, out of sight of the general public. In the old days, a public hanging was a community event, but nowadays, the perception seems to be that the public has grown too soft and squeamish about such things.

But maybe if they made it public again, people would understand and appreciate the gravity of what is actually being done. Another possibility is that they could require that executioners not be allowed anonymity, so they might think twice before actually accepting such a job.

Or, they could require that only the governor (or president, in federal executions) should be the executioner - no one else. They can't delegate someone else to do their own dirty work. Let's see if they have the guts to take a human life - and put it on TV as well, so the public can see their elected leader kill someone.