In a recent interview with New York Magazine, "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin opined on a variety of topics, seemingly doing everything in his power to avoid talking about “Game of Thrones” or “The Winds of Winter.” Though the interview with Martin didn’t have much news for fans of the series (other than hinting at the obvious and inevitable Tyrion and Daenerys meet up), it was an interesting look into the diverse, and unsurprisingly nerdy, interests of a man whose public persona has been consumed with nonstop “Game of Thrones.” One of the more intriguing portions is Martin expounding on the virtues of guillotines.
George R.R. Martin Interview
The guillotine portion of the Martin profile interview came while George and the reporter, Jennifer Vineyard were sharing a Clams Casino pizza at Modern Apizza. It’s the exact sort of image one would like to associate with Martin: a jolly man reminded of bloody instruments of execution while cutting into a pizza. “I’m not sure we should have the death penalty,” Martin told Vulture, “but if you want to keep the death penalty, then we should go back to the guillotine. The guillotine is the most humane method of execution ever devised. It never missed.”
And while Martin may have a little too much “Game of Thrones” style death on his mind, the fact remains that he is quite right. While there shouldn’t be a death penalty, if there is to be one it should use the guillotine.
There is an unsustainable illusion surrounding the political justice system that the death penalty is both scientifically rigorous and humane. To the American mind the guillotine looks like the product of a barbaric time, as it was used extensively in Nazi Germany, and more famously, during the French Revolution. Plus, the gory results speak for themselves. Lethal injection, by contrast, looks almost peaceful. In fact, the opposite is true, evidence is mounting that lethal injection is an unbearably cruel and lengthy way to die, while decapitation by guillotine is perhaps the most efficient and humane method ever invented. Plus, it has the added benefit of preserving vital organs for potential transplant.
Executions, as practiced in the United States, are designed to reduce the spectacle and terror of death. Lethal injection comforts the observer by paralyzing the victim, leaving the body unable to visibly react to the fatal chemical agents. In other words, it’s a theater, more for the benefit of the observer and society at large than for the humane death of the condemned.
To further disabuse anyone of the illusion that there’s rigor or scientific backing for our current methods of execution, check out the trailer for the remarkable Errol Morris documentary, “Mr. Death.”
While it’s both a strange messenger and an odd venue, R.R. Martin’s brief tangent into the politics of public execution gets the essential truth right. And if we’re lucky the celebrity of the “Game of Thrones” author will bring more attention to the appalling and general cruelty of the death penalty.
