No execution method is humane, only comparatively so by euphemism

Evidence

There is no humane way to execute people. “Humane execution” is an oxymoron. However, the term humane is widely used in comparing execution methods, with each method being “more humane” than others. For example, electrocution replaced hanging on the grounds that it was allegedly “more humane.” Richard Dieter, the former executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, dubbed the merciful language as a “veil of humaneness” for a gruesome task (Berman, 2014b). Compare the euphemistic label with the grisly reality of executions as described by Supreme Court Justice William Brennan: “[T]he prisoner’s eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on [his] cheeks. The prisoner often defecates, urinates and vomits blood and drool. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner’s flesh swells and his skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the prisoner catches fire” (Ecenbarger, 1994). It is easy to understand why prison officials banned public witnesses and the media from observing executions. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1905

Categorization

• SEED: The contrast between euphemistic framing and Brennan’s graphic account is a strong spine for an essay on how euphemism protects institutions from the visceral reality of their own practices.