Utah’s Death By Firing Squad Reveals Gruesome Aspect of Death Penalty
Utah is the only state that will carry out an execution by firing squad. While the process is being phased out, apparently it’s a pretty good idea. Last night, for the first time since 1996, Utah carried out such an execution.
Slate paints a vivid picture of what goes into death-by-firing squad:
According to the Utah Department of Corrections, [Ronnie Lee] Gardner will be strapped to a chair for his execution wearing a jumpsuit with a target pinned to his heart. After offering last words, his face will be hooded, and five pre-selected law enforcement officers will aim for that target with .30-caliber rifles from less than 25 feet away. As in traditional military firing squads, one of those shooters’ guns will be loaded with blanks, to keep each one uncertain about whether he fired a fatal shot…(To honor the participating corrections officers, this time the department will issue commemorative coins to everyone involved.)
It turns out the firing squad is more humane than lethal injection: you die faster, pain is relatively low, and there are virtually no screw-ups. Given that lethal injection is botched more often than it should be, our standard means of execution often causes a slow, torturous death. All you need to make a firing squad death go well is “psychologically stable, trained professionals with experience shooting to kill.”
Rather than make me wish we used firing squads more often, this graphic discussion makes me wonder why we kill people at all. Ronnie Lee Gardner is a murderer (whereas some death sentences lack good evidence or legal representation); he recently told his parole board it would have been a miracle if he didn’t end up where he is now.
According to Salon, Gardner’s record began when he was found alone on the street at the age of 2. He was addicted drugs, including heroine, by 10 and acting as a lookout in his step-father’s robberies. “After spending 18 months in a state mental hospital and being sexually abused in a foster home, he killed Otterstrom at age 23. About six months later, at 24, he shot Burdell in the face as the attorney hid behind a door in the courthouse.” His mother has said that his explosive temper made him seem like he had two personalities.
Basically, our police and legal system did the right thing: They caught the criminal, put him on trial, and are punishing him to the full extent of the law (death). But until his arrest, the “system” failed him. That doesn’t excuse his actions, but it seems wrong that the legal system that failed to help this person from day one has now killed him. Responsibility doesn’t begin at the trial. Apparently, the death penalty is commonplace enough that the public discourse around this kind of tragedy has more to do with the method of the execution than the fact that it is taking place.
Pema Levy is a staff writer for Campus Progress.
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