The Engineer's Solution

Three men are about to be executed: a lawyer, a priest, and an engineer.

First, they bring the lawyer to the guillotine. The executioner pulls the lever, but the blade gets stuck halfway down. The lawyer shouts, "Aha! You've technically carried out the execution, and you can't try again. That would be double jeopardy!" Intimidated, the executioner lets him go. Next, they bring the priest. Again, the blade gets stuck. The priest cries, "It's a miracle! God has spared me!" The executioner, fearing divine wrath, lets him go. Finally, they bring the engineer. As he's being strapped in, he looks up at the mechanism and says, "Wait, I see your problem. You've got a blockage in the gear assembly right there..."