I have a question. When a prisoner is put to death by lethal injection, does he or she still get their arm cleaned with an alcohol swab? –Mark Alonso, 101st Airborne Division
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There are several reasons for this. Apart from its usefulness as an antiseptic, alcohol causes blood vessels to rise to the surface, making it easier to insert the needle. More important, there’s a chance the prisoner’s sentence might be delayed or commuted at the last minute.
Which brings us to what I think is the real reason for swabbing the arm: it’s part of the elaborate ritual that allows executioners to think of themselves as professionals doing a job rather than butchers. Interviews with members of execution teams reveal they place great stock in proper procedure. We may be certain that if the prisoner were to choke on a chicken bone during his last meal, the authorities would spare no effort to save his life an hour prior to ending it. Nazi death camp guards observed no such niceties. Thus do we persuade ourselves that we are better than they.
Once the bacteria get outside the body, there are many warm nooks and crannies on your person where they can survive. Even if the person who used the toilet before you had fastidious habits, bacteria can wind up on the toilet seat due to spray caused by flushing. One study found colonic bacteria on 7 percent of seats.
