Michael Portillo's How To Kill A Human Being

Among many countries throughout the world, they use different methods of execution to serve those justice of the victims families due to a serious crime that occurred. The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is the practice of killing people as a punishment for serious crimes. Many people today debate about this hot topic that their should be a human way to kill these criminals, not kill them at all, or give them all the pain they deserve. Many believe it goes against the eighth amendment, prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, fines, or cruel and unusual punishments. From the documentary on “How to Kill a Human Being,” Michael Portillo, a conservative politician, explores the different ways of how to execute
Portillo first analyzed lethal injections.He learned that there were two IV lines that are inserted in the body if the other fails. Doctors are unable to proceed with this method because they took a medical oath to save lives, not kill them. There are three drugs- sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride- involved, however it does not guarantee a death. A person Portillo interviewed said it feels like a burning sensation involving suffocation and takes up to 12 minutes. They are restrained by the ankles and wrist as well. About 20 states authorize lethal injections as the sole method in the United States, but 16 states has it as a primary method and an alternative method. Another method that was analyzed during the film was hanging. About 2 states offers this as a method of execution, but it is still used throughout the world. With hanging, there is a conversion chart involving the weight of the criminal to determine the height of hanging. It disrupts the joint near the neck, damaging the spinal cord and the brainstem. However, the downside to this method is it also does not guarantee a death due to different anatomy among one person to another. There is a slight chance decapitation will be involved. Moreover, Portillo analyzed the use of the electric chair. There is no clear scientific study of the effects of this, but there is the use of 2,450 volts involved.The criminal is connected to the head, ankles, and calves with shocks up to 15 seconds. Again, death is not guaranteed where the heart has a possibility of not getting affected at all. This is one of the most painful executions and may be gory. Lethal gas in a gas chamber is an additional method of execution available in five states. Criminals are put in a room that blows the toxic gas, replacing all forms of oxygen. It is said to be a combined death of a brain seizure and heart