Execution by firing squad

Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, especially in times of war. A firing squad is a group of people (usually soldiers) who are ordered to shoot at the condemned person simultaneously. No single member of the firing squad can save the condemned person's life by not firing, reducing the moral incentive to disobey the order to shoot (see diffusion of responsibility).

Use of firing squads in the US

According to Executions in the U.S. 1608-1987 by M. Watt Espy and John Ortiz Smylka, it is estimated that 142 men have been judicially shot in the United States and English-speaking predecessor territories since 1608, excluding executions related to the American Civil War. The Civil War saw several hundred firing squad deaths but reliable numbers are not available.

Related Topics:
1608 - American Civil War

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Capital punishment was suspended in the USA between 1967 and 1976 as a result of several decisions of the United States Supreme Court. It was "re-launched" by the execution of Gary Gilmore on January 24, 1977 at Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah by a five-man firing squad. The executioners were equipped with 30-30 rifles. They fired at a seated and hooded Gilmore from 20 feet (about six meters), aiming at the chest. Supposedly, one of the rifles was loaded with a blank, in accordance with tradition. Gary Gilmore's brother, Mikal, however, wrote in his memoir that he subsequently examined the shirt that Gary was wearing during the execution, and that there were five bullet holes in it.

Related Topics:
USA - 1967 - 1976 - United States Supreme Court - Gary Gilmore - January 24 - 1977 - Draper - Utah - Mikal

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In Utah, the firing squad is made up from volunteers of peace officers from the county of which the condemned was convicted.

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Since Gilmore's death, the only other execution by firing squad, that of John Albert Taylor in 1996, was also in Utah, which retained the firing squad as the default method of execution until 1980. The firing squad was banned in Utah by a law passed on March 15, 2004, leaving Idaho and Oklahoma as the only states where it is still legal, although four Utah convicts that previously chose to die by firing squad will have their requests honored should they ultimately be executed.

Related Topics:
1996 - 1980 - March 15 - 2004 - Idaho - Oklahoma

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