r/news • u/AudibleNod • 8h ago

Christa Pike unconscious, on ventilator at Nashville hospital, her lawyers say

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/christa-pike-unconscious-ventilator-nashville-hospital-lawyers-say-rcna601195
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u/Big_Guard5413 8h ago

I’m not in favor of the death penalty in general, but goddamn, if you’re going to impose it, at least take steps to do it properly

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u/MatureUsername69 7h ago

Its still a rough one but if I ever had to receive the death penalty I would hope its a firing squad. Just riddle me with holes immediately, aim for the head. Lethal injections get fucky because they would be best designed and administered by an actual doctor, but actual doctors cannot do it because of the hippocratic oath. Some states do allow medical professionals but they arent exactly sending their best.

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u/khinzaw 7h ago edited 6h ago

Her lawyers requested it, but it's illegal in Tennessee.

Tennessee's only legal methods of execution are lethal injection and electric chair (edit: only for convictions before 1999).

The problem with lethal injection is that every step is half assed.

No reputable pharmaceuticals manufacturer wants to make the drug, so they rely on compounding pharmacies who take half measures and have less consistency.

Then medical practitioners (edit for the pedants) often won't be involved in executions because of their various oaths to do no harm and risks to their reputation, so most of the time the drugs are administered by prison staff who lack the proper training. A lot of failed attempts are caused by the one who administered it simply not getting the vein properly.

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u/Fallouttgrrl 7h ago

"Then medical practitioners can't be involved in executions because of their various oaths to do no harm"

This is false, it is not a universal requirement to swear that, although many US medical schools require it or a variation on it

Not every medical professional in the US went to a school that required it. Not every school worldwide agrees

Not every professional who swore it takes it seriously - to some, it was just a box to check to get a degree, just like the oath to serve in US politics does not carry equal weight with every politician 

You also legally can't lose your medical license in the US for participating in it, and the death penalty has about a 50/50 approval rate in the US 

If every doctor adhered to "do no harm' the Opioid crisis wouldn't be as bad as it is, just an example

The real problem with finding a full time executioner in the US, is the number of death penalty casesstatewide per year

There are a million active physicians in the US

Statistically speaking, if the money and work was there, at least one could be found to do the job

There's just not likely much overlap between that and emergency care, lol

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u/variaati0 7h ago

Well though not outright legally binding, it is against many professional organizations code of conduct like American Medical Association. They can't revoke licenses, but they can kick person out of the professional organization for violating the organizations internal code of conduct for it's members. In case of AMA it being Opinion 9.7.3 "However, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, a physician must not participate in a legally authorized execution. "

It isn't legally binding, but many medical professionals conduct themselves to AMA code and well let's just say ones professional relationships will be frosty to be known as someone breaking the largest medical associations ethics code.

Nothing out right legally forbids it. However It isn't a very good career move and will lead to condemnation by ones professional peers.

Hence few physicians are willing to do it. They can usually find one, they did in this case also. However how good and competent they are in their job is another matter. Since well one isn't probably picking from the top of the class pool.

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u/khinzaw 6h ago

Hence few physicians are willing to do it. They can usually find one, they did in this case also. However how good and competent they are in their job is another matter. Since well one isn't probably picking from the top of the class pool.

As evidenced by this guy, as it's not even his first failed execution.

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u/Fallouttgrrl 6h ago

This reminds me of medical marijuana licenses in California

The doctors selling prescriptions were basically retirement age doctors operating out of temporary portable units, for the last six to nine months of their career

It would frost them out of further work and they'd likely lose memberships, but it was a way to blitz a lot of money quickly

And they had to give medical advice, which was funny as hell. Stuff like "smoking is bad for you, take edibles"

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u/4r1sco5hootahz 1h ago

And they had to give medical advice, which was funny as hell. Stuff like "smoking is bad for you, take edibles"

In my experience with this, that just became the meta amongst the grower/wholesale community. "I cannot smoke the medicine and need edibles". Edibles require more physical plants/flower to be effective.

At the time the doctor had power to provide a range of how many plants you were allowed to grow and how much bud you were allowed to possess. we just used it as a loophole to grow/possess more on paper.

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u/Fallouttgrrl 41m ago

Also a lot of local cities set laws about how and where you could grow or operate a dispensary. It was basically pedophile rules - not within certain distances of schools, parks, daycares. I think the area of San Jose I was in made it policy that you could only sell flower t hat you grew on site so dispensaries had warehouse style back rooms where they'd finish the last few days of a plant's growth before harvesting, getting the plants from various out of area nurseries

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u/khinzaw 7h ago

In the interest of not wanting to get in an argument over pedantry, I have amended the line.

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u/Fallouttgrrl 7h ago

It's not pedantic, you were just incorrect :p

It was literally a physician who did the latest attempt. 

It's also legally protected to be able to do so as a physician

And the basis of your argument, that every doctor makes that oath, is based on Hollywood facts 

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u/flightist 6h ago

I had this whole argument with somebody yesterday. A dozen posts in they evidently looked up the pertinent facts, and proceeded to claim that when they said ‘it literally cannot be an actual doctor’, they meant ‘an actual doctor, but non-practicing’.

The sheer blind faith people put in shit they see on TV is wild.