Maybe I need to switch the theme of the blog from guns to the death penalty… Say Uncle asks if death by shooting is humane?
Alas, the concept of 'humane' has been conflated with 'clean'. 00 Buck from a 12 gauge behind the ear is quick and as painless as it gets. But it's messy. Guillotines are the same. There's no pain and it's over practically instantly. But there's a loose head and plenty of blood.
Instead of doing it fast and efficiently, we've convoluted the process with a series of injections trying to somehow to make ourselves feel better about the process of ending another's life in as pain-free manner as possible. Unintended consequences abound, it's not always as pain free or simple. Death usually occurs within seven minutes but the entire procedure can take up to two hours [source]. However, regardless of the suffering or errors in the process, when you're done there's no blood splattered anywhere, so I guess some peoples' conscious can remain clear.
Electric chair, IMHO, is inhumane. I realize the first jolt is generally considered to cause brain death and unconsciousness, but that has been proven time and time again to not be always true. And while I have no compunctions about true monsters suffering through their executions, it's still a better bet for society that we make the deaths as humane as possible as protection for the rest of us.
Death by firing squad though is a grey area. If only one person has a live round, then the chances of a non-lethal hit are high. I personally believe that if you have a moral issue with killing another human being and require blanks to assuage your conscience, then you don't need to be on the firing squad to begin with.
I'm also not a fan of aiming at the chest. Piercing the heart or vital organs doesn't mean instant death. Shots to the head would be much more efficient, humane, and of course, quite messy. But again, we seem to conflate 'clean' with 'humane'.
Your thoughts?
Try a simple test. Have someone clamp your carotid arteries (a pair of thumbs will do it), then quickly clamp your thumb hard with a pair of pliers, and then notice whether or not your thumb hurts until you become unconscious from lack of oxygen. Then have him release your carotids, at which point you should revive nicely. Finally, tell us what it felt like.