"Ban the Death Penalty," is the editorial published by Bloomberg News. It's by David Shipley.
A grisly new consideration may start a necessary debate over capital punishment in the U.S., which is unique among advanced nations in its use of the death penalty. The distinction isn't one to be proud of and should be brought to an end.
Since the 1980s, the use of lethal injection has made executions seem a little more clinical and a little less barbaric. But recently pharmaceutical companies have refused to supply some of the fatal drugs, and some executions have raised doubts that this way of killing is less cruel. Executioners are now preparing to rely on more traditional methods. Firing squads, gas chambers and electric chairs might make Americans queasier about the whole business, and willing to consider the issue afresh.
And:
Let's allow that it would have been right to execute Hitler. But let's also recognize that restricting the death penalty to the few cases where it would be both just and safe is impractical. The best pragmatic course is not to use the death penalty more sparingly but to abolish it outright.
Related posts are in the abolition and editorial category indexes. You can see proposals to bring back the electric chair, firing squads and the gas chamber at the links.
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