Maybe they could simply drug his Twinkies and Ho-Hos?

L. O. L.

Most physicians will have nothing to do with that because of their "do no harm" clause.

Maybe because we're supposed better and more humane than a murderer? It makes us no better than him if we make him suffer, though we're no better than him in putting him to death anyways. Personally I think any form of capital punishment is barbarous, and most of the civilized world agrees, but apparently not the Supreme Court.

Isn't Kevorkian looking for work?
Or me.

It sounds to me like an elephant tranquilizer could just put this whole problem to a screeching halt...

Seriously, if they're worried that the anethsetic will not properly function why can't they use something more strong or 'effective'?

We still have hanging here in my state (last one was in 1993). But a prisoner won a hearing years ago to have his death sentence by hanging changed to lethal injection because at more than 400 lbs. medical advisors said he would be decapitated.

In all seriousness, I take a Michel Foucault approach to punishment. I don't believe in cruel and unusual punishments. Such actions on the part of the state undermine the roles of institution of formal social control and punishment.

If the man is found to be medically incapable of lethal injection, they need to make adjustments. If he's just trying to get out of it and he's capable of lethal injection, stick it to him.

Y'all have to watch this from The Onion:

"Supreme Court rules death penalty is totally badass"

http://www.theonion.com/content/vide..._death_penalty

Isn't that what happened to Saddam's brother?

Yeah, selective citation of the Hippocratic Oath, although I'm not sure where you get "most." That "do no harm" stuff doesn't seem to bother lots of doctors when it comes to abortion. (Nor, for that matter, does that specific line in the Hippocratic Oath, now usually left out altogether: "I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.")

I know that there are medical baords that say they cannot allow doctors to participate in executions because it would violate medical ethics. I also know that there have been court decisions saying that if the state requires the presence of a doctor, the medical board can't discipline the doctor for doing what the law requires.

His half-brother's head reportedly snapped off during the execution; here's a CNN report on it: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/...ons/index.html

I'm anti-capital punishment (yes, anti-death penalty Republicans do exist), so this story doesn't bother me quite as much. Although, I think eating yourself out of an execution is an interesting strategy.

I laughed at this. He did the deed so he has to pay for his crime, no matter how fat he is now.
MysticCat, is his lawyers defense valid? I served on a jury for the first time recently, and suddenly have this newfound curiosity for all finer points of law. Having someone's future put into your hands (shared by 12 others) is a very daunting task. I hardly slept the night before we had to deliberate.:)

stupid question: how do people get fat in prison? i thought meals and such were limited.

He got fat by blowing Bubbles.

Time to dust off Old Sparky.