It's been a week of death on TV. Baby animals were slaughtered during Kill It, Cook It, Eat It last week, and Jamie Oliver gassed chicks and killed chickens in Jamie's Fowl Dinners last Friday! I suppose it's only fair that humans are next...
Horizon's How To Kill A Human Being was an hour-long documentary fronted by former-MP Michael Portillo – now rebranding himself as a have-a-go television presenter. Last time, he spent a week living as a working class single mum in a council estate... this time, he's strapping himself into a centrifuge in his quest to find a perfect method of execution.
Yes, that old chestnut. In principle, Portillo is pro-capital punishment -- just as long as the process is quick, painless and humane. In an interesting, but slightly uncomfortable documentary, he showed us the science behind various ways governments have killed criminals in the past...
Lethal injection is soon ruled out by Portillo for being too painful. The classic electric chair is tested on a pig carcass and clearly causes mutilation and suffering -- particularly if inept guards use a wet sponge they bought from a convenience store, instead of a natural one, to conduct the electric!
The centuries-old method of hanging sounded better, but it can cause peoples' heads to pop off (remember Saddam's brother?), as weight-to-height calculations are not precise or internationally consistent.
The best results appear to involve an altitude chamber in Holland, which Portillo sits inside to experience the euphoric effects of having oxygen slowly drained from the atmosphere. Within minutes, he can't answer simple math questions correctly and, most importantly, feels so light-headed that he can't even summon the will to prevent his own death. Fortunately (or not) Portillo's life is saved by an assistant, on hand to fasten his oxygen mask back on.
This biological effect is called hypoxia, and it seems to be the perfect killing method Portillo's been searching for. Unfortunately, altitude chambers are far too expensive to be installed everywhere -- but, some British scientists can replicate the altitude chamber's effects using a simple gas. Indeed, they already use this method to kill animals, with unconsciousness arriving after 15 seconds and death in under a minute. Voila!
Portillo's soon hotfooted his way to the USA, which still carries out executions in a number of states, and presents his findings to Professor Blecker. However, far from getting a pat on the back and ushering in a revolution to Death Row, Blecker is aghast that Portillo thinks murderers and rapists should be given an easy way out. Why should they die with more dignity and less pain that the vast majority of law-abiding, innocent people in the world? Is that "justice" for the grieving victims' families left behind?
It was a strange documentary, for the most part. The science behind some of the execution styles was certainly interesting, while Portillo commendably exposed himself to CS gas inside a tent, sat in a spinning centrifuge as the blood drained to his legs, and experienced the effects of a lack of oxygen to the brain. But, other than that, it was quite a hollow experience.
The main problem was Portillo's general attitude was thoughtful, but his questions weren't very probing or insightful. His main argument about how capital punishment should be painless was presented as the only sane opinion to have, so when Professor Blecker argued against letting convicts "get off easy" with a totally humane death, the documentary was unfortunately about to end.
It was a shame Horizon didn't spend a bit longer examining the moral and ethical idea behind executions, instead of the physical practicalities. Consequently, How To Kill A Human Being showed you exactly what the title suggested, but left little room for counterarguments.
15 January 2008
BBC2, 9.00 pm
Horizon's How To Kill A Human Being was an hour-long documentary fronted by former-MP Michael Portillo – now rebranding himself as a have-a-go television presenter. Last time, he spent a week living as a working class single mum in a council estate... this time, he's strapping himself into a centrifuge in his quest to find a perfect method of execution.
Yes, that old chestnut. In principle, Portillo is pro-capital punishment -- just as long as the process is quick, painless and humane. In an interesting, but slightly uncomfortable documentary, he showed us the science behind various ways governments have killed criminals in the past...
Lethal injection is soon ruled out by Portillo for being too painful. The classic electric chair is tested on a pig carcass and clearly causes mutilation and suffering -- particularly if inept guards use a wet sponge they bought from a convenience store, instead of a natural one, to conduct the electric!
The centuries-old method of hanging sounded better, but it can cause peoples' heads to pop off (remember Saddam's brother?), as weight-to-height calculations are not precise or internationally consistent.
The best results appear to involve an altitude chamber in Holland, which Portillo sits inside to experience the euphoric effects of having oxygen slowly drained from the atmosphere. Within minutes, he can't answer simple math questions correctly and, most importantly, feels so light-headed that he can't even summon the will to prevent his own death. Fortunately (or not) Portillo's life is saved by an assistant, on hand to fasten his oxygen mask back on.
This biological effect is called hypoxia, and it seems to be the perfect killing method Portillo's been searching for. Unfortunately, altitude chambers are far too expensive to be installed everywhere -- but, some British scientists can replicate the altitude chamber's effects using a simple gas. Indeed, they already use this method to kill animals, with unconsciousness arriving after 15 seconds and death in under a minute. Voila!
Portillo's soon hotfooted his way to the USA, which still carries out executions in a number of states, and presents his findings to Professor Blecker. However, far from getting a pat on the back and ushering in a revolution to Death Row, Blecker is aghast that Portillo thinks murderers and rapists should be given an easy way out. Why should they die with more dignity and less pain that the vast majority of law-abiding, innocent people in the world? Is that "justice" for the grieving victims' families left behind?
It was a strange documentary, for the most part. The science behind some of the execution styles was certainly interesting, while Portillo commendably exposed himself to CS gas inside a tent, sat in a spinning centrifuge as the blood drained to his legs, and experienced the effects of a lack of oxygen to the brain. But, other than that, it was quite a hollow experience.
The main problem was Portillo's general attitude was thoughtful, but his questions weren't very probing or insightful. His main argument about how capital punishment should be painless was presented as the only sane opinion to have, so when Professor Blecker argued against letting convicts "get off easy" with a totally humane death, the documentary was unfortunately about to end.
It was a shame Horizon didn't spend a bit longer examining the moral and ethical idea behind executions, instead of the physical practicalities. Consequently, How To Kill A Human Being showed you exactly what the title suggested, but left little room for counterarguments.
15 January 2008
BBC2, 9.00 pm
