S11.E7: Executions

[buttersister]

In an episode in which a helium-enhanced John Oliver told states to Fucking stop killing people, you fucking assholes, the photos with Ilgar will never be forgotten.

[Annber03]

Leave it to John to track down the guy from the stock photos :D. I'm so glad he was able to get some photos with him, that was a fun way to end that segment. 

And MAJOR kudos to their research staff for tracking down the company that provided the drugs for the executions under Trump's administration. I hope other news outlets pick up and run with that exposure and make this a big story. Those clips of Trump going on about excutions with such excitement...considering he's currently running again, that makes them even more chilling. Especially when you consider he was eagerly calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five, who, let's remember, did not commit the crime they were accused of. 

The clip of that guy showing those YouTube videos of the teenage girls getting high on helium was SUPER disturbing on a whole host of levels, too. And that guy from South Carolina talking about the Constitutional issues that would come with taking stuff from a sheriff's office...I was sitting here like, "Oh, so you ARE aware of the Constitutional issues around the death penalty, then? Hm. Interesting."

The part that's most infuriating about all these people being so eager to push for executions is that they will then turn around and go on and on about how "pro-life" they are, and will slap down a shitton of restrictions and bans on women's reproductive choices as a result (nlcluding restrictions and bans for those who actually DO want kids, as the whole Alabama IVF ruling debacle has shown). If you thinke the government should have the right, the power, the ability, to execute its own citizens (which is one of many reasons why I am staunchly anti-death penalty, because I do not think the government should have that kind of power), then you do not fucking get to call yourself pro-life. Period. End of story. 

Kudos to that politician from Idaho calling out the absurdity of this whole secrecy/lying to the public BS. And for once, this is a story where my state is thankfully not on the list of those doing this kind of shady crap, because we do not have the death penalty here in Iowa. 

But yeah. Hopefully the Biden administration will take on board the suggestions John listed at the end. I'd like to hope we'll also get to a day where the death penalty is not a thing in our country, period, but who knows if and when that will happen. But any small steps are something to start with, at least. 

[Lantern7]

Grim episode. More stuff about executions, including how a bunch were under Trump. That figures, given his hard-on for the death penalty. John revealing the potential source of execution chemicals was chilling . . . mostly because of the legal ramifications. I don’t think anyone at LWT would be careless and/or reckless, but one slip-up would lead to problems where not even Business Daddy couldn't get John out of suffering.

After we got slow-motion footage of speedy dogs, John brings forth the king of stock photos. We needed that, bizarre as it was. It didn’t solve problems with the death penalty, but it was fun to watch.

[peeayebee]

11 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Those clips of Trump going on about excutions with such excitement...

Mr. Tough Guy.

Great job of them in uncovering the truth about Absolute Solutions, but what a depressing story. And I think any Gov or AG who pushes for the death penalty should be required to watch one being carried out. 

The palate cleansers of the running dogs and Ilgar were very much appreciated. 

[Lugal]

It really does make me think of the Voltaire quote: It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.

17 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Those clips of Trump going on about excutions with such excitement...considering he's currently running again, that makes them even more chilling. Especially when you consider he was eagerly calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five, who, let's remember, did not commit the crime they were accused of.

Especially even after he knew they were innocent.

5 hours ago, peeayebee said:

And I think any Gov or AG who pushes for the death penalty should be required to watch one being carried out.

I don't know if it would be a deterrent for them. If they do watch, I think they should have to keep their hands in sight at all times.  Personally, I would have them spend a night in a jail cell and then actually be strapped to the gurney so they really know what it feels like.

[DoctorAtomic]

One thing I didn't catch was what the cost of an execution was. I'm sure there's probably a lot of hidden fees that aren't obvious. 

[rwlevin]

On 4/8/2024 at 12:13 AM, Annber03 said:

And for once, this is a story where my state is thankfully not on the list of those doing this kind of shady crap, because we do not have the death penalty here in Iowa. 

Dude, I grew up in the town where the company doing all the shady crap is located. I miss the old days when Hamden was famous for being name-checked on the X-Files and being the home of Eli Whitney, not illegally selling execution drugs.

[heatherchandler]

I usually don’t like when John goes all serious anger shouting but I love how pissed off he is about executions.  Barbaric and sick, how are we still putting people to death?  It’s vengeance not justice.

[kittykat]

I always appreciate when a depressing story is followed by a spectacular ending.  Ilgar!

Kudos to the LWT team for all that digging into Absolute Standards.  That is Spotlight level of dedication there.

[iMonrey]

12 hours ago, heatherchandler said:

Barbaric and sick, how are we still putting people to death?

Because there are a lot of people who favor the death penalty, precisely because they see it as justice. And they vote for politicians that campaign on the death penalty. And they don't really care whether people sentenced to death die in a painful way because they see that as justice too. 

On 4/8/2024 at 10:28 AM, peeayebee said:

And I think any Gov or AG who pushes for the death penalty should be required to watch one being carried out. 

Agreed. 

[Hanahope]

LWT does better journalism research than most other media.  Kudos and I hope there are a lot of people in the Biden administration who watched and took notes.  

[andromeda331]

I love how that guy was for the death penatly but hadn't never been to an execution. Why not? If your for it. It shouldn't be that hard to sit through it.

I didn't know the state/government had problems getting drugs for it. I don't know why I assumed they'd have no problem. I'm surprise the drug companies have a problem or worry about what it would do to their business if it got out they provided drugs for it. I didn't think they worried about any bad press. 

I thougt they'd talk about how many tries it took that one prisoner to die or the other one who didn't die despite several attempts. 

[DoctorAtomic]

My state delayed an execution because they couldn't get the right drugs. So a bill was put in to reinstate firing squad, but I don't know if it passed. 

[Shrek]

15 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

My state delayed an execution because they couldn't get the right drugs. So a bill was put in to reinstate firing squad, but I don't know if it passed. 

Why not go the whole way & reinstate the guillotine. 

[JustHereForFood]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

My state delayed an execution because they couldn't get the right drugs. So a bill was put in to reinstate firing squad, but I don't know if it passed. 

I mean, I don't support the death penalty, but if I was to be executed and had the option to choose a method of execution for myself, I would pick a firing squad.

[peeayebee]

I'd choose death by chocolate.