Sentenced to death, what if you survive?

[Paksenarrion]

If the warden was a troll, he'd make you think you were a free man after a failed attempt, but then get you back in again.

"You survived! This has never happened before...well, I guess you're a free man."

"Really?"

"Nope! Back in the chair you go! Seriously, this is the funniest part of my job!"

 

[Vern]

Sentenced to death by execution, be it by electric chair, hanging, firing squad, or lethal injection means that you are to be put to a permanent death. There have been romantic fables about people who have survived hangings and firing squads in which they should've died, but didn't, and hence are set free, but they are fables. If you are sentenced to death, and the execution is botched, they will keep trying. Just being dead for a few minutes doesn't count, the sentence is permanent death, as in you will not see another sunrise or breathe another breath. And it's not double-jeopardy being executed for a crime if the execution wasn't carried out in full, since the sentence wasn't fulfilled the first time around.

 

[Thaluikhain]

No, it doesn't. But that is an illegal act, and getting a divorce from someone in that situation is easier.

Alot of places it actually isn't illegal. Yeah...

Isn't it lethal injection nowadays anyway?

It varies from place to place.

 

[tahrey]

Yeah, the sentence is death ... permanent death. If you happen to "get better", then the sentence hasn't been carried out. Back in the chair, buster!

I think there used to be a thing that if they tried to hang you and somehow you survived three times, you'd be let off (God wants you to live!), but that would be an incredibly unlikely occurrence, and it certainly hasn't carried through to Death Row, USA.

 

[thahat]

Actually "sentenced", not "sentanced".

And no, they'd just give you a second charge or whatever. It's happened before. Electric chairs rarely kill instantly, one reason why the US uses lethal injection now is it's more reliable.

well, exept or fat and or resistant people. the firt in that catagory is quite, quite pronounced in the usa so i forsee some problems, lol.

also, why dont they use a gillutine? ( or however one spells that, stupid frenchies and their hard to spell words XD* )

*no insult ment to the common french person, just to the guy/gal who thought up your language i guess XD

 

[Angerwing]

I'm pretty sure that being sentenced to death means a sentence of putting a permanent end to the criminals life. Botched executions only lead to renewed attempts to carry out the sentence. Not that death penalty is a sensible sanction anyway.


...and not that the question is at all practically relevant. If we have to engage in preposterous legal speculations, I'd consider it of ever so slightly greater theoretical relevance - and more darkly amusing - to speculate on whether the legal definition of "infidelity" which is sometimes a factor that can ensure access to a quick/instant divorce without a waiting period includes relations with non-humans; or if you're temporarily stuck with a spouse who eyes the dog strangely a bit too often.

Spoiler: Holy run on sentence Batman!

OT: I don't think it's a grey area, so to speak. That sort of thing is covered pretty explicitly by the law. Legalese doesn't really leave much room for interpretation.

 

[strum4h]

Well I guess if you get death by lethal injection you have to hope for multiple miracles.

 

[Retosa]

This is not an simple yay or nay question, this is much more complicated.

Actually, it is a very simple 'nay' question in the United States. In fact, in the olden days, when someone was sentenced to hang, they would specifically be said to "hang until dead".

Modern executions follow similar stipulations. There have been cases of people surviving the initial electric effects. The technicians were forced to leave the chair on and let it cook the living man to death. Shocking, to say the least. I believe smoke came out of his ears by the end.

Similarly, if something goes wrong in a modern lethal injection, the patient is administered increased dosages until they die.

The electric chair actually went wrong more times than it went right.

Quoting for your electric chair piece that had the guy's brains fry. That one happened because there was no water poured on his head prior to the electric execution, if my memory serves me properly.

Also, the OP specifically stated that the person actually died, then was revived. I believe there's a precedent for that where the individual was set free. Googled it and couldn't find it anywhere though, so I might be mistaken.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well I think in those countries where there is a Death penalty they will take a view like this but not necessarily worded like this. Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again.

 

[Zhukov]

The purpose of a death sentence is to permanently end the life of the convicted individual.

...

This is a short and boring post, so I'm going to spice it up with an tangentially related incident I once read about.

In WWII during the battle of Stalingrad a Russian soldier (can't remember his name) was charged with deserting his post. He was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad. They placed him up against a wall, shot him and then buried the body in a shallow grave. Several hours later he staggered into his unit's headquarters, caked in dirt and bleeding from several wounds, and reported for duty. He was promptly arrested, marched back to the same wall and executed for a second time. This time there was a doctor present to confirm his death. However before the doctor could check the dead man's vital signs the area came under artillery fire. The doctor and the firing squad ran for cover. The "dead" man took this opportunity to leap to his feet and make a run for it. He was last seen heading for the German lines, presumably with the intention of defecting.

 

[Peter Langdijk]

This is not an simple yay or nay question, this is much more complicated.

Actually, it is a very simple 'nay' question in the United States. In fact, in the olden days, when someone was sentenced to hang, they would specifically be said to "hang until dead".

Modern executions follow similar stipulations. There have been cases of people surviving the initial electric effects. The technicians were forced to leave the chair on and let it cook the living man to death. Shocking, to say the least. I believe smoke came out of his ears by the end.

Similarly, if something goes wrong in a modern lethal injection, the patient is administered increased dosages until they die.

The electric chair actually went wrong more times than it went right.

Quoting for your electric chair piece that had the guy's brains fry. That one happened because there was no water poured on his head prior to the electric execution, if my memory serves me properly.

Also, the OP specifically stated that the person actually died, then was revived. I believe there's a precedent for that where the individual was set free. Googled it and couldn't find it anywhere though, so I might be mistaken.

Thats because you probebly saw that in a movie, more specificly The green mile, google it, it has the scene in it where the guy fried because they put a dry sponge instead of an wet sponge on the guy's head.

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

I don't think you'd be a free man. The point of the death sentence is to get rid of the criminal. If you survived the shot to the head then they'd shoot you again till your dead. In the case of the electric chair then they'd zap you again or just shoot you till you were actually dead

 

[Verlander]

There was a country (I think it was Australia) which had the three strikes law, in terms of hanging. If your neck didn't snap 3 times in a row, you were free, as it had to be divine intervention. I kinda like that, gives 'em a bit of hope. Especially if they've already tried twice...

 

[Retosa]

This is not an simple yay or nay question, this is much more complicated.

Actually, it is a very simple 'nay' question in the United States. In fact, in the olden days, when someone was sentenced to hang, they would specifically be said to "hang until dead".

Modern executions follow similar stipulations. There have been cases of people surviving the initial electric effects. The technicians were forced to leave the chair on and let it cook the living man to death. Shocking, to say the least. I believe smoke came out of his ears by the end.

Similarly, if something goes wrong in a modern lethal injection, the patient is administered increased dosages until they die.

The electric chair actually went wrong more times than it went right.

Quoting for your electric chair piece that had the guy's brains fry. That one happened because there was no water poured on his head prior to the electric execution, if my memory serves me properly.

Also, the OP specifically stated that the person actually died, then was revived. I believe there's a precedent for that where the individual was set free. Googled it and couldn't find it anywhere though, so I might be mistaken.

No, they weren't released. That was a practice long, long abandoned before the electric chair was brought into use; the 'let them go if they live' deal, was used with hangings if the prisoner was hanged three times and didn't die.

The reason the majority of electric chair cases went poorly was not due to the wetness of the sponge (that was a movie: The Green Mile). Electrocution is not an exact science, so the individual being executed often endured a long, painful death as the electricity affected their body. Some died quick, but the majority simply succumbed to shock (no pun) and massive organ failure after several minutes.

Firstly, when I mentioned the thing I wasn't sure of, it was with regards to the person being let go after dying then reviving.

Second of all, a wet individual has increased conductivity (exact same thing as decreased resistance/impedance) and therefore dies much easier to electricity. While sweat is a better conductor than water, it works the same way.
Source: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/4.html

Therefore, someone not being wetted down will actually die a much slower and more painful death, due to an increased resistance, meaning more electricity must flow through his body to kill him.

Also, high voltage, such as the voltage used in an electric chair tends to arc and cause electrical burns. Also, the electric chair HAS caused someone's head to ignite in flames.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVJD2_DZNto
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/770179-overview
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_chair

Edit: Added the word impedance, as it is the more 'correct' term.

 

[Thaluikhain]

There was a country (I think it was Australia) which had the three strikes law, in terms of hanging. If your neck didn't snap 3 times in a row, you were free, as it had to be divine intervention. I kinda like that, gives 'em a bit of hope. Especially if they've already tried twice...

That seems odd...it's hardly unusual for the neck not to snap. If that happens, the person just hangs there until they suffocate, which can take quite a while, I believe, but will happen sooner or later.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Second of all, a wet individual has increased conductivity (exact same thing as decreased resistance/impedance) and therefore dies much easier to electricity. While sweat is a better conductor than water, it works the same way.
Source: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/4.html

Therefore, someone not being wetted down will actually die a much slower and more painful death, due to an increased resistance, meaning more electricity must flow through his body to kill him.

How exactly does that work though?

I mean, you are coating the individual with a conductive material. I would have though that would have the effect of lowering the resistance of the clothing wet it gets wet, but not the person themselves. You'd also expect the current to be diverted around the person.

Or is this to ensure a good connection between the person and the electrodes? Can't you just stick bare metal against the skin...though I guess water would prevent damage to the metal if the power arcs.

Personally, I'd say the nbest way of doing it would be to stick the electrodes under the skin, one on each arm so the current crossed the heart.