> A bullet in the back of the head is very efficient, and doesn't
> require highly trained staff, like our pseudo-medical procedures!
>
> I gotta say, I'm no fan of capital punishment, but this guy deserved
> it more than your run-of-the-mill murderer.
But apparently, lethal injection is cheaper -- shooting someone in China costs a whopping 85 bucks! I agree with you about Zheng deserving it more: Many of the people we execute in the U.S. are either retarded or borderline retarded and/or batshit crazy, or they were just drug dealers enforcing a contract -- hardly the worst of the worst.
NYT: In Shift, Chinese Carry Out Executions by Lethal Injection By CRAIG S. SMITH Published: December 28, 2001
[...]
There have been many news reports in recent weeks touting the benefits of lethal injection. Many reports emphasize the economy of the method, a tacit acknowledgment of the high volume of executions carried out each year in China.
''The cost of shooting them all was too high,'' reported the Dec. 12 edition of Sanlian Life Weekly, a government-owned current affairs magazine. The magazine said it cost about 700 yuan, or $85, to execute a prisoner by gunshot, including ''at least 100 yuan'' paid to the executioner.
During nationwide anticrime campaigns, when the number of executions doubles or triples as it has this year, ''there aren't enough shooters'' to keep up with demand, the magazine said.
Courts around the country are building execution chambers fitted with pumps that will allow executioners to start the flow of lethal drugs with the push of a button. Some of the chambers have several beds and several pumps to allow for multiple executions. China frequently executes groups of people at one time.
The magazine quoted an executioner named Li Shusheng, who said the new method meant ''less terror'' for the triggerman. Mr. Li, who could not be reached for comment, told the magazine that executioners had to fire their guns at very close range to ensure that they did not miss. He said most executioners used a semiautomatic rifle and aimed at the ''yuzheng'' accupressure point on the back of the convict's head. The executioners usually wear gloves and gauze surgical masks to protect themselves from spraying blood, bone and brains.
Mr. Liu, the lawyer, said part of his job as a judge was to take the executioner out drinking to help steady his nerves the night before an execution.
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