Firearms for use in Capital punishment

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wannabeagunsmith

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A while back I was reading an article on the gov's ways through the years of putting down criminals more "humanely" and it arose a question in my head- why did they stop using firing squads? I would think that it would be quicker, less painful than hanging, electric chair, or leathal injection to have about 7 people with .223's or 30-06's fire at the heart....I know it is a gross and creepy subject, but does anyone agree with me on this?
 
Aside from the question about why it should necessarily be humane I expect that injection is probably the least painful. Just a guess though.

mike
 
Utah

I remember hearing about a year ago where a guy on death row requested the firing squad for his death sentence. It was still on the books and they went through with it even though they hadn't done it in years.

I found it, here's the link;

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20008133-504083.html

It appears it was banned in 2004, but if they were on death row before then, they got grandfathered in.
 
firing squads are considered cruel and unusual punishment I believe. And I thought in firing squads, only one person had a live round and everyone else had blanks so no one would know who actually fired the killshot?
 
If you notice the trends in execution techniques, you'll see that the further along they go, chronologically, the less visible damage is done to the body of the condemned. Now, with lethal injection, you don't have bloody holes (firing squad), dismemberment (beheading), electrocution burns ("the chair"), rope burns (hanging), or any other signs of physical damage. The idea of "humane" is really connected in large part to the visceral reaction that is had by those witnessing it. Just an observation. In my opinion, anyone who does something that warrants a death penalty is not necessarily deserving of complete respect for their body by the executioners, so much so as to have it interred in perfect outward condition.
 
...in firing squads, only one person had a live round and everyone else had blanks so no one would know who actually fired the killshot?
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Have you NEVER been in a firing squad?!? You've got it backwards. There's one blank among the squad so everyone can hope/imagine that they didn't really participate. Supposed to lessen any "mark of Cain" mental distress.
 
Once the firing squad fires, each gunner knows exactly what was loaded in the gun they just fired. There would be no need to open the chamber to see. It either recoils or it doesn't, and then you know.
 
Like the one with the blank would not notice the absence of recoil. Or the ones without blanks wouldn't notice the presence of recoil. Or maybe the privates they put on the firing squad didn't know anything about blanks.

A military firing squad traditionally has the officer standing by with pistol in hand to administer the coup de grace if the squad did not get a quick kill.

If you are going to shoot somebody behind the ear a la Communist China, you have to have a very heartless executioner.

Do we have any volunteers?


There was a court case claiming that human execution by lethal injection was cruel and unusual because it amounted to an induced heart attack and was painful.
I don't know why the fancy "cocktail" of drugs was devised. We put injured livestock down humanely with a simple OD of anesthetic.
 
Personally I would rather see them use a couple of 22's and inflict a level of pain and suffering that was inflicted on their victims their families. Their own actions were cruel and unusual punishment inflicted on the innocent. They did not recieve the death penalty for being model citizens.........
 
Even multiple hits to the heart will not be immediate although quite quick. Hanging is a good way to go when they do it right and the kneck breaks but can take longer than half an hour for strangulation to occur when not such as after the Nurember trials. Electric chair probably isn't that bad because the brain essentially gets hit like a reset button so one is not likely to know what is going on.

Personally I would rather see them use a couple of 22's and inflict a level of pain and suffering that was inflicted on their victims their families. Their own actions were cruel and unusual punishment inflicted on the innocent.
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The reason our constition prevents such things is to ensure the government does not then do so to people who do not deserve such treatment. Its not a coincidence that the countries that do allow such punishment tend to do so broadly.
 
In 1913, Nevada invented an "automated firing squad" comprised of three rifles mounted on an iron frame that fired simultaneously. It was used once, in the execution of Andriza Mircovich.

Seems to me a firing squad would be no less cruel then watching a guy put a rope around your neck, or strapping you in an electric chair, or shooting your arm full of lethal drugs.

Maybe we need to further develop the Nevada automaton firing squad?

A dollar two fifty worth of 5.56 and the man his self gets to click the mouse in the governors mansion easy chair.

rc
 
The purpose of the Death Penalty isn't revenge, it's justice. The idea behind it is that a person is so dangerous to society that if they ever escaped from prison, they would likely repeat their crime, or they would be a lethal danger to their fellow inmates (convicted of non-violent crimes).

Along the timeline of history, we've worked to make the penalty more humane. Of execution methods, the most humane are lethal injection and beheading; death is near instantaneous. Both hanging and firing squad involve a degree of error that make them unsuitable to modern capital punishment. With hanging, the drop has to be precisely measured. In a firing squad, the bullets may not hit their trajectory exactly. In the latter case, there is often an officer with a pistol who is instructed to shoot the condemned through the ear if they are still alive.
 
I've heard of wax bullets being used so that the recoil and flash is still there.

But I've always thought of the use of blanks as being proactive.

The firing squad members don't know for sure what's loaded in their rifle so that might reduce apprehension.

After the deed is done they know if they fired a lethal round but the point is make sure the condemned doesn't suffer.
 
I've always said bring back firing squads and let volunteers use their own weapons. I seriously doubt you'd have any shortage of volunteers.
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Maybe but i bet repeat volunteers would be rare.
 
Wax bullets?
Recoil?

Have you ever shot a wax bullet?
There is no recoil because there is no weight to speak of.

If there is no bullet weight, there is no recoil.
If there is bullet weight, their is recoil.

And if there is recoil, there is a terminally lethal projectile at firing squad distance.

rc
 
I think that they did away with firing parties because it is more dignified to meet death head on. They would rather have a helpless subject.

As far as being humane, the late Dr. William Maples, forensic pathologist and author of "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" felt that the electric chair was most humane. His reasoning: Even a trickle of current (as for example in electro shock therapy) completely obliterates brain function and memory. The massive flow through the brain in an electrocution would prevent any pain being felt. So, although electrocution looked horrible, it presumably wasn't (from the inside that is.)
 
rcmodel said:
Wax bullets?
Recoil?

Have you ever shot a wax bullet?
There is no recoil because there is no weight to speak of.

If there is no bullet weight, there is no recoil.
If there is bullet weight, their is recoil.

And if there is recoil, there is a terminally lethal projectile at firing squad distance.

rc
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Never fired one. It's just what I've read about how Utah does it.
 
firing squads are considered cruel and unusual punishment I believe.
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By whom? The Supreme Court never outlawed that method to my knowledge. It's a pure policy question. Maybe corrections folks are just leery about having the rifles discharged.
 
There's a History Channel documentary on it. You might be able to find it if you search for it. I think the Utah one was a machine too.
 
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