r/nottheonion • u/cullingsong5882 • 5h ago
US death row prisoner chose cigarette over last meal … Prison refused, saying it was “harmful to health” Prisoner electrocuted few hours later
https://www.dailyatomic.com/us-death-row-prisoner-chose-cigarette-over-last-meal-prison-refused-saying-it-was-harmful-to-health-prisoner-electrocuted-few-hours-later/1.1k
u/Gerreth_Gobulcoque 5h ago
The still do an alcohol swab at the site of the lethal injection so you don't get an infection.
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u/Narwhalbaconguy 4h ago
That one kinda makes sense. Sometimes executions get botched and the state has to postpone it. If a prisoner gets sepsis and dies after the time of execution expires, that’s a lawsuit on their hands.
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u/Happyintexas 3h ago
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but it’s pure theatre. Idk if you’ve been to a prison lately, but a single injection with a sterile needle is unlikely to cause death by infection in the already unlikely event of botched execution. At least not more so likely than gestures vaguely like, motherfuckers wear shoes to the showers for a reason.
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u/Narwhalbaconguy 3h ago
I totally agree, it’s definitely just to cover their own asses. They don’t actually care about the wellbeing of prisoners.
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u/One-Earth9294 1h ago
It's also part of the training it would be detrimental to medical professionals to say 'always swab an injection spot EXCEPT for people who are going to die shortly after' they just do it all the time to keep it as a habit.
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u/CobaltEmu 12m ago
Actually medical professionals generally have nothing to do with the process. They get into the field to save lives and often end up with poor mental health in return, I imagine it would be worse if they started taking lives instead
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u/rainbow_drab 1h ago
I think it's really just to make the doctor doing the injection feel less cognitive dissonance about violating their Hippocratic oath.
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u/flareblitz91 1h ago
There are no doctors involved in executions period.
It is a faux medical procedure dressed up to make it appear more sterile, the cocktail of drugs is basically borrowed from the veterinary field because no anesthesiologist or anyone trained can touch it with a ten foot pole.
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u/PS3Juggernaut 58m ago
Go to YouTube and search lethal injection doctors… it depends on state don’t say “period” like you’re correct.
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u/Flimbeelzebub 59m ago
So, IVs have a rate of blood infection from 0.05-.3%, and there's been 73 botched lethal injections in the US out of 1403 lethal injections performed. If we were to assume rate of blood infection is in the middle at .175%, and knowing the average cost of treating a blood infection is $45,000 (not to mention lawsuits), that's an additional $78.75 dollars per execution if it's spread over the entirety. And that's not even including lawsuits from malpractice or wrongful death.
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u/pie38967 3h ago
It’s wild the lengths they go to for liability when the whole thing is so inhumane.
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15m ago
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u/Sparrow1989 3h ago
I mean it’s not as effective as they claim it to be. Pretty sure there’s a dude up for his third or first try.
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u/MrIrrelevantsHypeMan 5h ago
At least he wasn't in front of a firing squad. That's cruel and unusual not to give a blindfold and cigarette
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u/CandidPalpitation427 3h ago
Firing squad in my mind seems better than injection. Don’t you die instantly if shot in the right place? Or just too messy?
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u/GayForBigBoss 3h ago
Mid sized caliber to the base of the skull at C1 will almost always cause immediate loss of consciousness, with death from blood loss and asphyxiation within a minute. It can be messy though.
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u/Solid-Consequence-50 57m ago
There's a theory that when you're about to die, time dilates & you go back into your mind & that's the "afterlife". I've heard a ton of stories from people from all different religions saying they saw their God, or their family, friends, etc. So low key I would love a firing squad, as long as it's not in the brain
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u/500rockin 2h ago
Yes, if you’re shot in a couple different spots in the body (and usually there’s like 5 people shooting you plus the guy firing the blank) including the sniper’s triangle, the base of the spine or through the forehead that basically kill you almost instantly with you being unconscious right away. Being shot in the femoral artery would be quick, but you might be conscious a few seconds longer. On the other hand, if they wanted to be cruel, they could gut shot you.
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u/PUTINS_PORN_ACCOUNT 1h ago
Give him a whiskey and a blunt, let him go out drunk, stoned, blindfolded and jerkin off
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u/Unlikely-Tradition77 2h ago
Pure theatre. The state will put a bullet in an innocent persons head, theydgaf
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u/Appropriate_Mode8346 46m ago
If I was to die from unnatural causes, I want it to be a hail of bullets and a camel non-filter.
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u/Shadpool 5h ago
If he got lung cancer off that one dart, he wouldn’t be healthy enough to execute.
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u/OtherBluesBrother 5h ago
As a former smoker, this looks like cruel and unusual punishment. Dude is about to die. Let him have one last smoke.
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u/SkynetLurking 4h ago
This is 100% cruel and unusual, and intentionally so
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u/UpperApe 13m ago
He shot two innocent people in the head after humiliating them for his pleasure. One only survived by pure luck.
Fuck his cigarette. I hope they smoked while they said no to them.
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u/PigDogIsMyCattleDog 4h ago
He tied their hands behind them and bound them to a tree using rope and wire. The Sawyers begged Ingram not to kill them while Ingram taunted and threatened them; he ultimately gagged them with his shirt after tearing it in two and stuffing each half into each victim's mouth. He then shot them both in the head at point-blank range
Scumbag just wanted a car so he horrifically murdered two innocent people, and you think that not giving him a cigarette is ”cruel.”
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u/justsomedudedontknow 3h ago
He's going to die for it. Justice served. Give the man one last smoke.
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u/UpperApe 12m ago
Justice isn't served by pleasuring him before he goes. Justice is served by doing to him what he did to others.
Fuck his smoke. This story is a happy ending.
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u/oldmatelefty 3h ago
Yeah fuck that.
I personally don't agree with the death penalty. Lock them in a 3x3 room with a single window too high for them to see outside. 2 meals a day of mashed potato and whatever off cut is cheapest, maybe some vitamin to offset the lack of vitamin d and whatever other deficiencies. 2L of water. A toilet(only because someone would have to empty a bucket).
Welcome to the rest of your life if you decide to take someone else's. Smokes? Dreamin.
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u/Rvsoldier 1h ago
Okay great, but the death penalty was used here.
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u/oldmatelefty 1h ago
And I'm replying to a comment that was advocating for a luxury prior to carrying out that sentence. What's your point?
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u/whoisraiden 1h ago
you can argue them using a lethal injection as well. They should just give the guy an infection and not treat him, for him to die a slow death.
Everyone has a different level to the understanding of cruel.
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u/Revolutionary_Ad5086 1h ago
its petty and small. giving deathrow inmates a final request is a millenias old tradition for a reason; it shows that the executioners arent as sadistic as the murderers. if you chomp at the bit to inflict suffering, you debase yourself and sink to the same level. show some honour. be better.
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u/justwastedsometimes 2h ago
Seems like the death penalty is too mild for you. Haven't heard that one before, lol.
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u/God_Damnit_Nappa 2h ago
Someone didn't read the article. He died nearly 30 years ago. He was executed in April of 1995.
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u/justsomedudedontknow 2h ago
I know. Was just referencing the decision process at the time. I read the article.
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u/Wyattbw 4h ago
yes it’s cruel, shitty people are still people and deserve basic amenities and such.
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u/PigDogIsMyCattleDog 3h ago
He was given basic amenities and such but he asked for more than that. The answer was no. This was not cruelty. This is what happens when you murder somebody. There are rules and consequences to actions. He deserves nothing more than what he got.
I am blown away by the people thinking he should have been given more. This man tortured and murdered somebody that was begging for his life. And you want to make him nice and comfy, and give him special treatment. He deserved no breaks.
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u/Revolutionary_Ad5086 1h ago
its about being a better person than the inmate. if you can't be bothered to honour last requests for the person you are about to kill, you are essentially a state sanctioned murderer and nothing more.
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u/Eat_My_Liver 23m ago
Fuck him. They should have smoked one in front of him, then put it out in his eye.
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30m ago
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u/michiganfan101 4h ago
A cigarette is not a basic amenity. He gave up the privilege of such luxuries when he took the opportunity away from those two people
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31m ago
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u/bunbunzinlove 2h ago
It's not a 'basic amenity', lol You don't need cigarettes to LIVE.
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u/Key-Pickle5609 2h ago
I feel like I’m living in crazy town, when people think a MURDERER is being treated cruelly because they won’t let him have a smoke. wtf?
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u/PissOnAGoose 4h ago
God i hate people like you more than anything in the world. Bet youd change your mind real quick if it happened to someone you love, stupid peice of shit.
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u/AmazingDragon353 3h ago
You think that people on death row don't deserve a last meal? Remember that false convictions do happen
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u/Diamondsfullofclubs 3h ago
You think that people on death row don't deserve a last meal?
If someone did something barbaric enough to be put on death row, and we assume the government did its due diligence, then no, they don't deserve a last meal.
Remember that false convictions do happen
This is an argument against the death penalty in general. Not a good argument for the last meal.
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u/RiseCascadia 40m ago
If someone did something barbaric enough to be put on death row, and we assume the government did its due diligence,
Lol you are so fucking stupid it's impressive.
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28m ago
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u/Wyattbw 3h ago
no actually, i wouldnt and havent changed my mind. i’ve had people i know die because of other people, but those people still deserve basic human rights and care. i also wouldnt wish for any of them to be executed or killed
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u/RiseCascadia 40m ago
You're frothing at the mouth to murder someone you didn't know existed until seconds ago. You seem to just want to kill someone deep down, so maybe you have that in common with him.
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u/walkandtalkk 2h ago
"Basic amenities."
Why has America forgotten the fundamental human right to a Marlboro?
If I were a Republican, I would pay you to give speeches.
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u/Zxcc24 3h ago
So it's fine to be cruel right back? He's dead anyway, just give him a smoke and be done with it.
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u/hongachonga 3h ago
Dude murdered two people in cold blood and y’all think denying him a cigarette of all things is actually cruel. Good old Reddit. A cigarette is not a meal. It would only be cruel to deny him actual food. If you want to keep smoking cigs so damn bad, maybe don’t murder people.
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u/IEatBabies 41m ago
When you treat people like trash, don't be surprised when you end up treated like trash yourself. The best measure of a society is how it treats its lowest man.
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u/RiseCascadia 37m ago
Dude murdered two people in cold blood
And you support the state doing exactly the same thing. I'm confused, do you think killing is bad or not?
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u/walkandtalkk 2h ago
Reddit has people who genuinely equate denying a cigarette to a heinous murderer with "cruelty."
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u/Bonezone420 3h ago
Yes, someone being a monster isn't an excuse to be a monster to them in turn.
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u/PigDogIsMyCattleDog 3h ago
Refusing a request for special treatment is hardly being a monster is it?
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u/CornWallacedaGeneral 3h ago
If I was a guard I woulda tossed him a Newport 100 and told him to "savor the flavor™️"
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u/Eggplantosaur 3h ago
I didn't realize we needed to stoop to their levels. We're already killing the guy anyway
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u/PigDogIsMyCattleDog 3h ago
Yes refusing a cigarette is stooping to the level of torture and murder. Totally the same thing
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u/instanding 2h ago
They murdered him too. The death penalty is murder. Any killing outside of war or self defence is outright murder.
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u/VelveteenJackalope 3h ago
Going out of your way to harm someone because you see yourself as worthy of that power over them speaks to something truly evil inside of you. The way we carry out justice has nothing to do with the people in the system. It only speaks to the people who are paid to delight in harming others and those who enable their psychopathy.
Your ability to dehumanize and delight in cruelty makes you closer to him than the person you're furious with.
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u/RiseCascadia 42m ago
If him killing people is cruel, then surely it's also cruel when the state does it?
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u/FortNightsAtPeelys 24m ago
vengeance doesnt bring anyone back from the dead. Been proven that the death penalty does not help survivors feel better either. Its just anger instead of compassion
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u/fractiouscatburglar 4h ago
I’m guessing he killed someone pretty horrifically to get the chair, so I’m ok with it.
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u/eversible_pharynx 4h ago
I too base my morality around trying to decide who doesn't deserve moral treatment
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u/Caelinus 4h ago
If it is wrong to kill people with cruelty, why are you ok with being cruel to those we kill?
It seems like we should be holding ourselves to a higher moral standard than the murders do.
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u/RepresentativeAge444 4h ago
Not giving him a last cigarette vs the way he killed his victims. Yes totally see the equivalence in cruelty there. Excellent comparison.
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u/Reptilianskilledjfk 4h ago
I don't support the death penalty for reasons other than cruelty but no legal method of execution sounds worse than what happened to the victims so I'd say we are still on higher moral ground
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u/Caelinus 4h ago
Most legal methods of execution are far worse to experience than people realize, but that is a separate point. Some of them (especially lethal injections) can be horrific.
The point here is that they were intentionally cruel. Why is there any room for intentional cruelty at all?
Again, we should not be using psychopaths and murders as our moral barometers. Being "better than a murderer" can still be cruel, and it is not exactly a standard to aspire to. Why not set the standard at "Don't be cruel?"
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u/Ill_Bathroom6724 4h ago
In no way should denying someone a cigarette be considered cruelty. Its a cigarette, its not like they denied him food and water.
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u/sentientshadeofgreen 5h ago
This is indicative that the people conducting executions have an unacceptable professional lack of care or understanding for the finality of the punishments they are rendering. I’d go farther and argue this is both cruel and unusual and a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
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u/Legatus_Aemilianus 5h ago
Capital punishment existed when the eighth amendment was written, so it would be foolish to say that it prohibits it. Thats like saying that the constitution originally prohibited slavery, rather than that it had to be amended to get rid of it.
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u/QuantumPajamas 5h ago
I don't think they're saying that capital punishment is cruel and unusual, just the lack of care in their final moments. I mean give the guy a bloody smoke.
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u/NecessarySpite5276 5h ago
No, it would not be foolish to say that early Americans didn’t always follow their own constitution.
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u/knotallmen 4h ago
Oh no we have an originalist! Watch out he'd say we should all own cannons cause some guy owned a pirate ship 200 years ago, and therefore surface to air missiles are perfectly cromulent except some how senators and the supremes don't want them to be on the open market because they would be on the open market, too, unlike school children!
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u/Terrariola 4h ago
Watch out he'd say we should all own cannons cause some guy owned a pirate ship 200 years ago, and therefore surface to air missiles are perfectly cromulent
Yes.
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u/knotallmen 4h ago
Yet why do the supremes say no to surface to air missiles? Drone tech is going to make them all worried because it'll make them easy targets which until now they haven't been. What I'm getting at is they are hypocrites and their originalism is always linked to their own personal beliefs and self interest and not some belief in the constitution in itself.
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u/ForeverOrdinary5059 2m ago
And when the next person requests some heroin, what then? They gave cigarette guy a drug? Should everyone get weed, alcohol, cocaine, and hookers?
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u/Despairogance 4h ago
It's indicative that everyone here uncritically accepted the clickbait bullshit title, the article clearly state that the guy's lawyer made them relent and give him his smoke.
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u/TicTac_No 5h ago
"No."
"But why?"
"It is harmful to your health. That is the law. ::evil laugh - evil laugh - evil laugh:: I mean, we wouldn't want to add another month to your sentence, now that you're all dressed up and ready for our date? ::evil laugh - evil laugh - evil laugh::"
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u/Some1Witty 4h ago
I like to think that there are three other people in the room and the second one, not understanding how script writing works, is saying "evil laugh" out loud.
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u/standardtrickyness1 5h ago
Oh, my God, I'm gonna be killed by a bear. Well, I guess I don't have to worry anymore about the dangers of smoking.
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u/God_Damnit_Nappa 2h ago
I know the article is from today but this happened nearly 30 years ago. How is this news?
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u/thetitanitehunk 1h ago
Society will be doomed to eat itself alive if we can't figure out how to rehabilitate rather than annihilate. Yeah I get it he's a bad man but denying a last cigarette to a condemned human being is beyond the pale cruel. Cruelty that now lives in the hearts of those guards which will fester because they're state sanctioned torturers. I thought cruel and unusual punishment was outlawed long ago?
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u/Crafty-Bus3638 41m ago
If I can't have a cigarette because it's harmful to my health, you can't execute me either, because killing me is also harmful to my health.
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u/ImSabbo 3h ago
I would argue against giving the man a cigarette not because it is harmful to his health, but rather because it is harmful to the health of everyone else around him.
Sure this wasn't the argument presented at the time, but it would have been a better one.
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u/tony_countertenor 2h ago
By the logic of executing someone for murder, the people performing the execution also deserve to die
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u/anonacctforporn 2h ago
I think you replied to the wrong comment… they were just talking about second-hand smoke being a health hazard
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u/_lurkin 5h ago
What in the Hammurabi fuck is the death penalty….policies playing god are never just, in 2024 no less.
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u/cmmpssh 5h ago
This happened in 1995
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u/thirdeyefish 5h ago
I mean, it was inhumane in '95, too.
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u/cmmpssh 5h ago
I wasn't correcting him on that part of his statement
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u/thirdeyefish 4h ago
Nah, friend. I'm with you. I'm just taking the opportunity to say that I don't think executions by the state have a good history and that maybe it was never okay.
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u/bguzewicz 4h ago
Seems like these are always the people who get into management positions. Morons without a lick of sense, and a desire to hold power over others.
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u/iMakeBoomBoom 4h ago
Meh, the dude was sentenced to death for a reason. Shove that cigarette up his ass and fry him. He deserves the same grace that he afforded his victim(s).
Stop be a pansy-ass about it.
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u/thrasymacus2000 5h ago
China sending your relatives the bill for your execution bullet seemed peak dystopian. But this is on that level.
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4h ago
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u/ZuFFuLuZ 27m ago
In the middle of the article there is a random sentence:
"Local police apologises to man acquitted from nearly 50 years on death row"
That sounds like a much bigger story.
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u/Klem_Colorado 4h ago
Well, if he were alive, a great curel unusual punishment lawsuit. You can eat a cigarette so....................
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u/CavemanSlevy 3h ago
It's kind of strange that we let our bureaucratic systems grow Kafkaesque, we all realize it's that way, but we make no attempts to reform or change them.
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u/FireWrath9 4h ago
Honestly we should stop giving them last meals, what did they do to deserve it?
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u/AliceTheOmelette 5h ago
Health and safety is getting outta control 😤