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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2833 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 12, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Capital punishment is not a medical procedure and you shouldn't make it look like one.

Why not? When guillotine was invented, execution of the enemies of the state was a public spectacle that was explicitly designed to terrify and intimidate the population (and, to some measure, entertain it, with the idea that however bad you've got it, at least it's better than that guy). I think the government has since improved to a point where it has much more widespread and efficient methods to terrify and intimidate the population, and does not limit itself to the worst of the worst of the criminals anymore. So there's no point in spectacle, why not get rid of it and get to the end point of it with minimal amount of hassle?

I said this last time, but the main reason for executions requiring injuries "incompatible with life" delivered while conscious is to prove to the observers that a) it's really him, and b) he's really dead.
That's why even when hanging breaks the neck they wait ten+ minutes for the heartbeat to stop, then leave him a bit longer until everyone goes "yeah, he's not coming back from that."

I also suspect it's why beheading was a thing for the nobility. No conspiracy theories about how he paid the executioner to fake his death when you hold the head up afterwards.

a) it's really him, and b) he's really dead.

A body can be easily identified using DNA test. And the death can be established by any half-competent medic. If the victims are suspicious, they can get their own medic to check the body. Neither requires contemporaneous observation by any third party.

No conspiracy theories about how he paid the executioner to fake his death when you hold the head up afterwards.

Sure, it was tougher when you couldn't establish the identity easily. Any random asshole could declare himself miraculously rescued king X, and create a lot of mess. But now we can identify people. It's a solved problem.

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