The Useful Dead

Yahoo News reports that two white-collar criminals have been executed in China. Nothing unusual about that - the Chinese administer the death penalty even more enthusiastically than we do here in Texas. Something odd in the story caught my eye, though.

After the Supreme Court had confirmed the death sentences, the two were taken to a special mobile execution chamber for the lethal injections. MORE

First, the preferred method of execution in China, so far as I know, is a pistol shot to the back of the head. I have never heard of them using lethal injection. The Chinese government does not concern itself with avoiding "cruel & unusual" punishment as we do here in the U.S.

Even stranger, they have a "special mobile execution chamber." What's up with that? What does a mobile execution chamber look like? What do you need for a lethal injection besides a gurney and an IV? This makes no sense.

Or maybe it does make sense. Recall my previous post about China harvesting organs from condemned prisoners. Now the pieces come together. Suppose your plan is not only to kill the prisoners but also to do so cleanly and gently, so you can immediately begin removing organs in a sterile, efficient manner. In this case special facilities are a good idea.

If you want to keep the nature of the facilities quiet, you don't build one next to every courthouse. Better to have a mobile surgical suite that can be transported around the country to wherever executions are scheduled. Sort of a Winnebago of Death.

I'm not against the death penalty in principle, nor am I against organ donation. Combining the two in this manner, however, is just plain creepy.