Shoot 'em in the head.

• Author: Easterbrook, Gregg
• Position: TILTING at windmills - Brief article

Botched chemical executions in Arizona and Oklahoma have caused condemned men--both monsters who murdered the helpless--to die moaning in pain. The Supreme Court can't make up its mind whether chemical execution is cruel in constitutional terms. A Utah state lawmaker was scorned by popular opinion for saying the firing squad is more humane than the lethal cocktail. Only eight states still use the chair, which causes horrific suffering.

Killing can be justified if to defend self or others. The incarcerated pose no threat; for that reason, capital punishment is unjust. Yet if there is to be capital punishment, let's shoot 'em in the head.

Being shot in the head is the fastest way to die, thus is the least inhumane form of execution. Firing squads aim for the heart, so death takes a moment. With a shot to the head there is no suffering, life just ends. Sure...