this post was submitted on 09 May 2025
146 points (98.0% liked)

News

29306 readers
3530 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's a lesser point but still...

At less than five meters they managed to not hit his heart but they did manage to hit his pancreas and liver.

This is two people aiming at a static target, a human being, not moving, and you still managed to get that far off

For the gun touting maniacs that they are, Americans really suck at aiming

[–] tomi000@lemmy.world 0 points 23 hours ago

Who says they wanted to hit the vital spots?

Michael Douglas in Falling Down: "Take shooting lessons, asshole."

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

And in other news, South Carolina introduces bill for executions by dynamite to begin later this year.

[–] Twinklebreeze@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

This is how I want to go.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 31 points 2 days ago (1 children)

''endured pain beyond the “10-to-15 second” window of consciousness that was expected.''

So up to 15 seconds of agony is expected. Fucking barbarians.

[–] Routhinator@startrek.website 2 points 1 day ago

And he suffered for 80.

[–] medicsofanarchy@lemmy.world 44 points 2 days ago (4 children)

The article stated that there were three shooters, and only two gunshot wounds. I seem to recall from the early '70s that firing squads of five people or so always secretly loaded one weapon with blanks. That way the shooters could all convince themselves that they were the one who had the blank if their conscience bothered them. Maybe these guys did the same thing but with only three shooters...

[–] Carmakazi@lemmy.world 54 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I think if you can't find someone with the fortitude to put a hole in the victim's brain stem at muzzle contact range (let's ask the people who pushed for this punishment, for example), and you have to go through all this procedure to alleviate "guilty consciences", maybe the whole idea isn't so great?

[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

We should switch to execution by strangling to death by hand. The judge has to conduct the execution.

[–] Aethr@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

While I agree with the conclusion, making a moral judgment based on a random persons guilty conscience isn't very reliable.

[–] gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That is the protocol in Utah for firing squads, but not South Carolina

As for why Mahdi's body showed two wounds from the execution rather than three, a doctor noted in the comments section on the autopsy commissioned by the state that "it is believed that" two bullets went through one wound. Whereas in Utah, not all members of the state's firing squad shoot live bullets, in South Carolina, the rifles of all three shooters were supposed to be loaded with ammunition.

The two wounds on Mahdi's body were described in the autopsy as being almost exactly the same size. Pathologists who reviewed the report expressed doubt that two bullets went through precisely the same, small hole.

"I think the odds of that are pretty minuscule," Wigren said

(Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250509155025/https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/nx-s1-5389846/firing-squad-south-carolina-death-penalty-execution)

[–] capital_sniff@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Maybe their firing squad line up behind one another?

[–] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago

Which is dumb because you can clearly tell whether you had the blank or not from the amount of recoil.

[–] superkret@feddit.org 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Three shooters just isn't enough.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 days ago

Funny, I think it's three too many.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 34 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This shows a number of things. First, how barbarian and backwards death penalty is. Second, Americans are not even good at shooting.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 37 points 2 days ago (1 children)

it's out of their culture's preferred shooting range, the elementary school

[–] darkdemize@sh.itjust.works 19 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Come on, everyone always mentions the elementary schools, but we have plenty of other gun ranges. High schools, colleges, workplaces, shopping malls...

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

movie theaters to really make the action come to life?

[–] EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

. . . Concerts, thrift stores, department stores, clubs . . .

[–] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 1 points 7 hours ago

Dont forget churches!

[–] Olgratin_Magmatoe@slrpnk.net 23 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If only they were told it was a bad idea of a multitude of reasons.

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 21 points 2 days ago

They don't care. Suffering is the point. They don't want to understand how both revoking due process and allowing cruel and unusual punishment will eventually bite them in the ass.

[–] MoonlightFox@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago (5 children)

I am against the death penalty, it's a barbaric practice and not something a civilized country should do.

But for fucks sake, when you decide to have it, why not just heavily sedate someone first, with the help of an anesthesiologist or another medical professional?

[–] superkret@feddit.org 34 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Because no medical professional will do it.
It goes completely against the entire pride and ethics of that profession.
You don't put yourself through all the education required to become a physician, to then help kill people against their will.

[–] rautapekoni@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I don't think overdosing someone on morphine or some such anaesthetic or drug requires a medical degree.

Drug addicts seem to do it to themselves on accident all the fucking time. If a street junkie can do it, then I'm sure some training (that does not amount to a medical degree) would be enough.

The medical degree isn't about knowing how to knock them out. It's about knowing how to bring them back.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Met any anti-vax nurses? I guarantee you that you could find some medical professionals who would do it.

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I don't know what's more appalling, the number of antivax nurses or the number of people who reference their antivax nurse friends as authoritative sources. They are not doctors. They are not pathologisists. They are not immunologists, biologists, chemists, neurologists, or any other relevant ologists you can think of.

I don't trust the Jiffy Lube oil change tech to diagnose my car's power loss, but I guarantee they'll have some anecdotal ideas because they "hear" about things all the time. I don't trust an experienced mechanic to give a proper statement on reliability, either, because a mechanic will only see cars when they're broken, biasing the sample.

So how do nurses become the voice of fact on this? I mean, I know why. It's confirmation bias. This is more me screaming into the void, fuckin why?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 5 points 2 days ago

Anti-vax people don't generally hold that stance because they're evil. They're misinformed. Doctor willing to sedate a person whose about to get murdered and one that's sceptical about vaccines is not equivalent.

[–] gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't know for sure if they're all anti-vax, but there are definitely some problems with the kinds of medical professionals prisons often hire

(I could swear I saw a ProPublica article within the last month about how state prison systems all across the country hire doctors who got disciplined or lost their licenses in other states but I can't seem to find it now, so here are some slightly older articles or ones that focus on specific states, but this is definitely still a current problem and not one that just happens in one state or another)

"Many state hospital, prison doctors without medical licenses" (arc)

"Disgraced doctors, unlicensed officials: Prisons face criticism over health care" (arc)

"Nearly one-third of doctors working in Wisconsin's prisons have been censured" (arc)

"When Prison Nurses Must Choose Between Guards & Patients: In dozens of cases, medical personnel in NY prisons were accused of covering up beatings — some under pressure — and rarely faced punishment." (arc)

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] themadcodger@kbin.earth 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The cruelty is the point with these people.

[–] ToastedRavioli@midwest.social 6 points 2 days ago

Revenge has to be the only point, considering that it is genuinely cheaper to imprison people for life than it is to go through death row appeals and execute them, even before you include the cost of botching executions and the lawsuits that stem from that. South Carolina choosing firing squad in this case was not only because its harder to botch, but because its virtually impossible to buy the drugs for lethal injection anymore. Even when available, they cost a fortune for the state to procure

The death penalty is just to sate barbaric revenge instincts and nothing else. There is no logical point to it

[–] MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

with the help of an anesthesiologist or another medical professional

Usually medical professionals aren't involved because it's a violation of their oath to do no harm. So then these sadistic bumblefucks just do whatever they want.

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 3 points 2 days ago

Any medical professional would lose their licence if they participated in any way.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Shawdow194@fedia.io 12 points 2 days ago

Officials placed a hood over Mahdi’s head before the staff fired, according to an Associated Press reporter, who was a witness. As shots were fired, Mahdi cried out and his arms flexed, and after roughly 45 seconds, he groaned twice, the AP said. His breaths continued for around 80 seconds, then a doctor examined him for a minute. He was declared dead roughly four minutes after the shots.

[–] superkret@feddit.org 5 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Is there any good reason why the rifles aren't firmly fixed to a stand so they point directly at the heart, with the shooters only pulling the trigger?

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] dulce_3t_decorum_3st@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (4 children)

They're doing firing squad executions still?

Jesus Christ.

[–] Carmakazi@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

Recently some states have brought it back specifically. No points for guessing which way those states lean politically.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

it's meant to be less shitty than the lethal injection etc.

of course, unless they fuck it up

[–] TimLovesTech@badatbeing.social 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's meant to be cheaper, not better. Finding and paying for the drugs has become more difficult.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

no, as in the pain and etc is meant to be better.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Why were they not aiming for the head? 2 headshots would have put him out of his misery instantly even if the 3rd person missed.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 11 points 2 days ago

It's either because they want to pretend it's a civilized execution method by making it look better or because they want to keep the option of doing it wrong and making the victim suffer longer.

load more comments
view more: next ›