Hanging is the safest way to execute, government tells Supreme Court

NEW DELHI:  Hanging is a far safer and quicker way to execute convicts compared with other methods used in foreign countries, the government told the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Other modes of execution such as lethal injection or firing squad, if bungled, may produce disastrous results. According to the Centre, hanging as a mode of execution is quick, easy to carry out and certain. 

“The procedure followed for execution by electrocution or lethal injection or firing squad could be just as inhumane or barbaric to another person. As far as execution getting botched up is concerned, the statistics show that hanging with more advanced procedures is far safer than techniques such as lethal injection,” the government said in response to a PIL filed by advocate Rishi Malhotra challenging the constitutionality of hanging.

Section 354 (5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure mandates that a person sentenced to death shall be hanged by the neck until he is dead.Citing reports and statistics, the government referred to the botched-up administration of lethal injections to condemned prisoners in the US for 110 years. The government also states that the lethal chemical, if known to the public, would possibly be misused. 

How they compare Hanging
Quick and certain mean to ascertain death; avoids accident; eliminates possibility of lingering death
Lethal injection
Many botched cases in the US show it is not foolproof. Death is not as painless as believed
Firing squad
Not fail-safe; can be extremely painful if the shooter misses the heart