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I saw a 'Forensic Files' show the other night and the true story was about this guy that raped and killed an 8 year old girl. That's the lowest of the low. The creepiest of the creeps. So my question is should that creeps organs be harvested to give people transplants that they need to survive? Would it be justice to give his organs to a child in need to survive for what he did? The feeling inside me says yes but I realize it is a huge legal entanglement
I believe that we already do this. I've read occasional references to it.
It's certainly reasonable to require that the criminal make some form of restitution.
For a few years, I had a job where I was in the car for the majority of the day & discovered I could pass away the time faster by listening to podcasts or interviews on my phone. I got on these kicks & would change topics once I had my fill... Mafia stories, Canadian/British interviewing programs, historical American heroes, comedian interviews, old H'wood bios, murder mysteries, serial killers.
When I was on an FBI profiler/serial killer jaunt, I recall 1 profiler (my apologies, but I don't recall the profiler's name or which interview) mentioning that death row criminals did often donate organs. I believe he said they're asked just before headed to "the chair" & perhaps some agree due to a momentary tinge of guilt for their murder/s. I didn't know that.
I did know that some donate their brains to be studied by medical professionals to determine if there were a reason for their horrifyingly chosen ways to pass their time. As an aside, some famous brains have disappeared, like Ted Bundy's. There's a link below to a few famous & infamous, who have been dismantled in some way, after death and/or had remains disappear. For the weak of heart, it's not a gruesome article... it's interesting & strange from an historical prospect.
I don't know which % of death row inmates allow their organs be donated, but there's 1 thing that would enter my mind & perhaps others & that is... do you really want the heart of a serial killer, or the kidney of a mass killer, or the lung of a rapist with hundreds of victims? I don't mean to get all metaphysical, but if you knew your child had an organ from any of the aforementioned, would it not be normal to think if the child goes through a turbulent, rebellious phase or incident, such as hurting the family pet or killing a bird with a slingshot, that it might be the influence of that particular person's donated organ?
Before you laugh it off, some transplant recipients claim to have specific food or drink cravings, which turn out to be the fave food of their donor. Others suddenly like a hobby or music or sport, when it was never an interest before. Some experience cravings to smoke or drink alcohol, when they never did before, then find out their donor smoked or drank. Of course, when that ill, we all want to live & will do most anything to do so. But, I must admit that if my recipient child were suddenly an impatient person with fits of frustration or rage... I might initially wonder if it were due to her donor's body part.
Lastly, I do know an elderly man, who claims his friend received an organ (don't know which, but I think it was heart) after an horrific car accident (for both donor & recipient). She woke up speaking a foreign language... the language of her donor. Maybe it's due to the woman having brain damage & some part of her brain being activated... maybe it's something she heard in youth, as coincidentally, she was of the same heritage as the donor, although she didn't speak the language, but heard it in youth from grandparents, who emigrated to the states? Who knows, but it is fascinating.
For me, without going into detail, I have faced life threatening issues. Personally, I'd bypass the organ of a killer, if I were cognizant enough to make such a choice. Life can be tough enough. I don't need to be fighting urges to kill others when they make me mad, rather than just silently thinking, "Shut up!"
To the exact q from the OP... no, we can't harvest organs without consent (didn't Nazis do that?) & honestly, having known 3 people who have been recipients... 1 as a teen, 1 as a 40-yr old & 1 had 2 kidney transplants before age 30), who are all now deceased, transplants didn't enhance their lives in any way whatsoever & only prolonged years & years & years of painful illness & zero quality of life with an astounding amount of drugs, needing constant switching, so that the body didn't reject the organ... so, I'm not a big proponent of transplants. Sure, there are always stories of someone getting an organ & leading a wonderful life... I just haven't heard of many of those types of recipients.
I'm a big believer in when my time is up, it's up. The body rejects another's organ, naturally... it's a foreign body. When my time comes, let me go. Personal preference, but I also chose not to be a donor.
What if an inmate sentenced to life without parole had a rare bone marrow profile that made him the only match for a child - do we force him to submit to the procedure? How about give a kidney, or a slice of liver? And even if we don't force him, if we offer to make him eligible for parole if he agrees to donate, does that qualify as coercion?
I swear, that was the subject of a TV show once (Criminal Minds or Grey's Anatomy, maybe?). Had a slightly different twist, as the criminal WANTED to donate, but the parents of the sick child were hesitant to take his organ. And as was mentioned by someone earlier in this thread, the prisoner knew his organs would be unusable after lethal injection; so he got his hands on a guard's gun, and shot himself in the head instead. If I remember the show I'll come back and tell you, because it was very gripping! Of course, now I've spoiled it.
But to answer the original question, no we should not. For all the reasons already mentioned, but namely that even death row inmates retain some of their civil rights... they've eradicated enough human rights as of lately, so I don't think it would be prudent to add any more.
First of all, that is not in our system of punishment. We execute, yes, but we do it swiftly, painlessly, and without passion. Once we have executed, we turn to the business of the day. We tell those we execute "may God have mercy on your soul" and not "may you suffer endless tortures in the fires of hell". It is against our Constitution in our 8th amendment for it might be excessive or cruel or unusual. Despite that one might be a criminal, they still have certain rights, certain respects. To harvest people like plants or stock is not the people we are.
Secondly, open those gates and those with the power will find ways to abuse it for their purposes.
Finally, often such criminals are not the best choices for tissue donation in the first place. They often lead unhealthy lives, following poor practices, and are in poor shape for the long term view of things. After all, if one expected to live till 80, would one take the risks of being a criminal? Look at it this way in that if one knew someone was such a criminal, would one have unprotected sex (or sex at all) with them?
I saw a 'Forensic Files' show the other night and the true story was about this guy that raped and killed an 8 year old girl. That's the lowest of the low. The creepiest of the creeps. So my question is should that creeps organs be harvested to give people transplants that they need to survive? Would it be justice to give his organs to a child in need to survive for what he did? The feeling inside me says yes but I realize it is a huge legal entanglement
If you bothered to watch a few more episodes, you would see the stories where America does a good job of locking up innocent people so it's not a stretch to say there's a few of them on death row and now we should harvest their organs? No.
You lock them up, put them on death row, and lethal inject them. Anything beyond that is overkill and savagery for the sake of barbarism.
I swear, that was the subject of a TV show once (Criminal Minds or Grey's Anatomy, maybe?). Had a slightly different twist, as the criminal WANTED to donate, but the parents of the sick child were hesitant to take his organ. And as was mentioned by someone earlier in this thread, the prisoner knew his organs would be unusable after lethal injection; so he got his hands on a guard's gun, and shot himself in the head instead. If I remember the show I'll come back and tell you, because it was very gripping! Of course, now I've spoiled it.
But to answer the original question, no we should not. For all the reasons already mentioned, but namely that even death row inmates retain some of their civil rights... they've eradicated enough human rights as of lately, so I don't think it would be prudent to add any more.
I think I saw that show too. Was it an episode “The Good Doctor?”
I saw a 'Forensic Files' show the other night and the true story was about this guy that raped and killed an 8 year old girl. That's the lowest of the low. The creepiest of the creeps. So my question is should that creeps organs be harvested to give people transplants that they need to survive? Would it be justice to give his organs to a child in need to survive for what he did? The feeling inside me says yes but I realize it is a huge legal entanglement
OP, I just realized that I might not be clear on your question: Are you asking if we should kill these people sooner in order to harvest their organs, or should we simply harvest their organs as part of the execution process?
I think I saw that show too. Was it an episode “The Good Doctor?”
YES, I think that's it!! Very good show, and that episode was particularly interesting... I'd recommend (to others who haven't seen it) watching, especially if you're interested in this organ-related topic. It really brought up some poignant thoughts to consider here.
First of all, that is not in our system of punishment. We execute, yes, but we do it swiftly, painlessly, and without passion. Once we have executed, we turn to the business of the day. We tell those we execute "may God have mercy on your soul" and not "may you suffer endless tortures in the fires of hell". It is against our Constitution in our 8th amendment for it might be excessive or cruel or unusual. Despite that one might be a criminal, they still have certain rights, certain respects. To harvest people like plants or stock is not the people we are.
Secondly, open those gates and those with the power will find ways to abuse it for their purposes.
Finally, often such criminals are not the best choices for tissue donation in the first place. They often lead unhealthy lives, following poor practices, and are in poor shape for the long term view of things. After all, if one expected to live till 80, would one take the risks of being a criminal? Look at it this way in that if one knew someone was such a criminal, would one have unprotected sex (or sex at all) with them?
Well, in regard to "first of all"...at least that's the way it should happen. Lately I'm not so sure.
Look at it this way in that if one knew someone was such a criminal, would one have unprotected sex (or sex at all) with them?
I agree 100% with the rest of your post, and think you made some excellent points... but this part? Well, actually a lot of women (and perhaps men) do/would. Sometimes it's just because they're already dating a man before learning he's "such a criminal," and sometimes they seek "projects" thinking they can change him. Doesn't affect the points you're making, but I just had to say you'd be surprised on this one!
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