Death Penalty as Performance of Cruelty and Vengeance - Episode Hero Image

Death Penalty as Performance of Cruelty and Vengeance

Revisionist History · · Listen to Original Episode →
Original Title:

TL;DR

  • The death penalty's perceived humanity is a performance, masking inherent cruelty through bureaucratic impersonation of medical acts rather than genuine concern for prisoner welfare.
  • Modern execution protocols, like the three-drug lethal injection, originated from untested, back-of-the-envelope ideas, not rigorous scientific analysis, leading to potential suffering.
  • States ramp up executions for political reasons, particularly during moments of heightened appetite for vengeance, as seen with Florida's governor using death penalty policy for presidential ambitions.
  • The Supreme Court has consistently upheld execution methods, viewing botched attempts as "innocent misadventures" rather than evidence of systemic cruelty, thus preserving the death penalty's morally noxious core.
  • Judicial override in Alabama allowed judges to impose death sentences against jury recommendations, often with implicit racial motivations to counteract perceived leniency from juries, especially concerning black defendants.
  • The death penalty's historical justification echoes that of lynching, framing it as protection for white women against black men, a rationale that has persisted and been overlooked in legal discourse.
  • Secrecy surrounding executions, including anonymous personnel and hidden procedures, acknowledges the inherent shame of the act, suggesting states know public scrutiny would lead to outcry.

Deep Dive

The death penalty in the United States is not merely a flawed system but a deliberate performance of cruelty, masked by bureaucratic processes and legal justifications that obscure its inherent brutality. This system, increasingly reliant on opaque methods and political expediency, perpetuates a cycle of violence and fails to uphold its stated principles of justice or humanity, ultimately revealing a national tolerance for state-sanctioned killing.

The core of the death penalty's cruelty lies in its "impersonation of a medical act," a performance designed to sanitize the state's killing of its citizens. This facade is maintained through a bureaucratic apparatus that prioritizes the appearance of a humane process over actual medical or ethical considerations. For instance, the three-drug lethal injection protocol, initially conceived in the 1970s with little scientific basis and based on a crude analogy to animal euthanasia, is presented as a modern, painless method. However, the drugs used, particularly midazolam, have been shown to be ineffective sedatives, leading to prolonged suffering, as evidenced by botched executions. The lack of transparency surrounding drug sourcing and executioner anonymity further underscores this performance; states actively shroud the process in secrecy, acknowledging its shameful nature by avoiding public scrutiny. This secrecy is not an anomaly but a systemic feature, with some states like Indiana prohibiting any media witnesses, demonstrating a profound contempt for public oversight.

The persistence of the death penalty, despite overwhelming evidence of its racial and classist biases, points to a deeper rationale rooted in vengeance rather than justice. Historically, capital punishment in the American South has been intrinsically linked to lynching and slavery, serving as a tool to maintain social control and racial hierarchy. While proponents argue for its necessity as an ultimate punishment, this perspective often bypasses the defendant's circumstances, focusing instead on a broad moral statement about societal intolerance. This framing allows for the continuation of the death penalty even when guilt is contested or the method is demonstrably cruel, as courts have repeatedly upheld execution protocols despite evidence of suffering. The Supreme Court's consistent reluctance to invalidate execution methods, often dismissing egregious incidents as "innocent misadventures," reveals an underlying anxiety to preserve capital punishment's inherently morally noxious quality of cruelty. Furthermore, policies like Alabama's judicial override, which allowed judges to impose death sentences against jury recommendations, highlight a deliberate intent to circumvent what were perceived as potentially lenient jury decisions, and at times, to counteract racial biases by ensuring a certain racial balance in death sentences, revealing the system's prioritization of appearance over genuine fairness.

Ultimately, the death penalty's enduring presence, despite its systemic flaws and ethical compromises, signifies a fundamental aspect of the American justice system's embrace of state-sanctioned violence. The argument that the death penalty is a "broken system" is a mischaracterization; it functions as designed, reflecting a national willingness to engage in state-sponsored killing. The reluctance to confront this reality stems from the broader implications it has for the entire criminal justice apparatus, including mass incarceration and the purpose of sentencing. The core takeaway is that the death penalty is not an occasional error but a deliberate and ingrained mechanism of control and retribution, and its continued application reveals a nation that has normalized cruelty as a form of justice.

Action Items

  • Audit execution protocols: Identify 3-5 potential points of failure in the lethal injection process (ref: Baze v. Rees, Glossip v. Gross).
  • Draft transparency policy: Outline requirements for public disclosure of execution methods and personnel (ref: Alabama's secrecy legislation).
  • Measure judicial override impact: Analyze 3-5 death row cases impacted by judicial override for racial or class disparities (ref: Alabama's judicial override history).
  • Evaluate drug sourcing: Investigate the provenance and testing of drugs used in executions for compliance and efficacy (ref: Midazolam use in executions).

Related Episodes

Key Quotes

"as of december 1st this year 11 states have executed a total of 44 people making 2025 one of the deadliest years for state sanctioned killings and in alabama they're still using nitrogen hypoxia the brutal method pioneered in kenny smith's final execution"

This quote highlights the alarming trend of increasing state-sanctioned killings in 2025, specifically mentioning Alabama's continued use of nitrogen hypoxia. Liliana Segura points out that this method was pioneered in a specific execution, suggesting a pattern of brutal practices.

"the justification for the death penalty is that it's supposed to be the ultimate punishment for the worst crimes but in reality who gets sentenced to die depends on things that often have nothing to do with guilt or innocence"

Liliana Segura argues that the stated purpose of the death penalty as a punishment for the worst crimes is undermined by the reality that sentencing is influenced by factors unrelated to guilt. This suggests a systemic bias within the application of capital punishment.

"he says it is the impersonation of a medical act and i think that phrase speaks volumes that a lot of what is going on here is a kind of performance that is for the benefit of the viewer it has to look acceptable to those who are watching to those who are kind of in society who are judging or observing the process"

Malcolm Gladwell explains that the death penalty, particularly lethal injection, is a "performance" designed to appear as a medical act for public consumption. He suggests that the focus is on managing perception rather than the actual treatment of the condemned.

"the story of the death penalty the story of executions so often really boils down to that we are in a political moment right now uh where the climate around executions certainly but i think in general the kind of appetite for or promotion of vengeance and sort of brutality towards our enemies is really um shockingly real right now"

Liliana Segura connects the current rise in executions to a broader political climate that fosters vengeance and brutality. She notes that this trend is "shockingly real" and suggests it is driven by a desire to target perceived enemies.

"the death penalty in the south in its early days uh was justified using the exact same rationale that people used for lynching which was that this was about protecting white women from sexually predatory black men and that line that consistent sort of feature of executions whether it was an extrajudicial lynching or an execution carried out by the state has been really consistent"

Liliana Segura draws a direct line between the historical justification for lynching and the early rationale for the death penalty in the South. She emphasizes that the idea of protecting white women from Black men was a consistent feature across both extrajudicial violence and state-sanctioned executions.

"it's not enough to say that even the worst person in the world does not deserve to be murdered by the state that's not what states do right in a civilized society that one sentence ought to be enough and it's kind of a symptom of how distorted this argument has become that it's not enough"

Malcolm Gladwell expresses concern that the debate around the death penalty has become so distorted that simply stating that the state should not murder anyone, regardless of their crimes, is no longer considered sufficient. He believes this indicates a fundamental problem with how the argument for abolition is framed.

Resources

External Resources

Books

  • "The Alabama Murders" - Mentioned as the subject of Malcolm Gladwell's podcast series, which critiques cruelty in America and the legal system.

Articles & Papers

  • "A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union released in November" - Discussed as evidence that more than half of the people exonerated from death row since 1973 were black.
  • "Furman v. Georgia" (Supreme Court case) - Mentioned as a 1972 case that invalidated the death penalty across the country due to evidence of arbitrary sentencing, disproportionately affecting people of color.
  • "Gregg v. Georgia" (Supreme Court case) - Mentioned as a 1976 case that followed Furman v. Georgia.
  • "Baze v. Rees" (Supreme Court case) - Mentioned as a 2008 Supreme Court case that upheld Kentucky's three-drug lethal injection protocol despite evidence of it not being rooted in science and of botched executions.
  • "Glossip v. Gross" (Supreme Court case) - Mentioned as a Supreme Court case heard after a gruesome botched execution, which the court upheld the protocol despite concerns about inhumane practices.
  • "Willie Francis case" (Supreme Court case) - Mentioned as a 1940s case involving a teenager who survived an initial attempt at execution by electric chair, where the Supreme Court ruled a second attempt would not violate the Eighth Amendment.

People

  • Malcolm Gladwell - Writer at The New Yorker and co-founder of Pushkin Industries, host of the podcast series "The Alabama Murders."
  • Liliana Segura - Criminal justice reporter at The Intercept, who discussed capital punishment and the death penalty with Malcolm Gladwell.
  • Kate Courtney Field - Psychologist who studies trauma, mentioned for her involvement in a death penalty case that led Malcolm Gladwell to investigate the topic.
  • Jules Zevitt - Interviewee who described lethal injection as "the impersonation of a medical act."
  • Kenny Smith - Subject of "The Alabama Murders" podcast, whose execution involved the use of nitrogen gas and a botched attempt to find a vein.
  • Elizabeth Sennett - Victim whose killing is recounted at the start of "The Alabama Murders" series.
  • John Parker - One of the two men convicted of killing Elizabeth Sennett.
  • Governor DeSantis - Mentioned for ramping up executions in Florida for political reasons.
  • Ronald Reagan - Former governor of California, mentioned for a suggestion regarding execution methods for horses.
  • Clayton Lockett - Man executed in Oklahoma in 2014, whose botched execution was a high-profile case.
  • Richard Glossip - Man with a long-standing innocence claim whose death sentence and conviction were overturned in 2024, and who was almost executed by Oklahoma in 2015.
  • Anthony Sanchez - Man executed in Oklahoma in September 2023.
  • Gentner Drummond - Attorney General of Oklahoma, who attended the execution of Anthony Sanchez.
  • Bryan Stevenson - Head of the Equal Justice Initiative, who called the death penalty the "stepchild of lynching."
  • Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) - Mentioned in relation to sleep apnea.

Organizations & Institutions

  • The Intercept - Publication where Liliana Segura is a criminal justice reporter.
  • Pushkin Industries - Podcast network co-founded by Malcolm Gladwell.
  • T-Mobile - Mentioned in relation to their network and Super Mobile business plan.
  • Ookla's Speedtest - Experts who named T-Mobile the best network.
  • Lilly - A medicine company providing information on sleep apnea.
  • American Military University (AMU) - Offers online master's programs for military personnel and their families.
  • Airbnb - Platform for hosting homes while away, mentioned for earning extra money.
  • The New Yorker - Publication where Malcolm Gladwell is a writer.
  • Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) - Organization that launched a memorial for lynching victims in Montgomery.
  • Britbox - Streaming service for British television.
  • Saatva - Official mattress and restorative sleep provider for the US Olympic and Paralympic teams.
  • My Policy Advocate - Platform that reads insurance policies to identify vulnerabilities.
  • Myer - Retailer mentioned for seasonal savings and a shopping app.
  • iHeart Podcast - Mentioned as the producer of a podcast.

Websites & Online Resources

  • omnystudio.com/listener - Provided for privacy information.
  • supermobile.com - Website to learn more about Super Mobile.
  • don'tsleeponosa.com - Website to learn more about sleep apnea.
  • apus.edu - Website for American Military University.
  • airbnb.com/host - Website to find out how much a home might be worth for hosting.
  • britbox.com - Website to watch British TV with a free trial.
  • saatva.com/gladwell - Website to save on Saatva mattresses.
  • mypolicyadvocate.com - Website for My Policy Advocate.

Other Resources

  • Revisionist History - Podcast hosted by Malcolm Gladwell.
  • The Intercept Briefing - Podcast where Malcolm Gladwell and Liliana Segura discussed capital punishment.
  • Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) - A condition where breathing is interrupted during sleep.
  • Lethal Injection - A method of execution discussed in detail.
  • Nitrogen Hypoxia - A method of execution pioneered in Kenny Smith's final execution.
  • Three-drug protocol - A method of lethal injection involving a sedative, paralytic, and potassium chloride.
  • Judicial Override - A practice in some states where a judge can impose a death sentence even if a jury recommended life in prison.
  • Eighth Amendment - Constitutional amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.
  • Live Pigeon Shooting - An Olympic event from the 1908 Summer Games.
  • Poodle Clipping - An Olympic event from the 1908 Summer Games.

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