Related to the story on Reuters: Oddly Enough regarding a woman in solitary confinement in Vietnam getting pregnant somehow. She's due to face the firing squad soon and a friend of mine told me you can choose that in the US. Trying to verify.
2006-10-12 02:31:29 · 7 answers · asked by Megan A 2 in News & Events ➔ Current Events
texas
2006-10-12 19:48:51 · answer #1 · answered by acid tongue 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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 yet available. Crimes punishable by firing squad in the Civil War included desertion, intentionally killing a superior officer or fellow soldier, and being a spy.
Capital punishment was suspended in the United States between 1967 and 1976 as a result of several decisions of the United States Supreme Court. The process resumed with the execution of Gary Gilmore on January 17, 1977 at Utah State Prison in Draper. The five executioners were equipped with .308 caliber (7.62 mm) rifles and off-the-shelf Winchester SilverTip ammunition. The subject was restrained and hooded. The shots were fired at a distance of 20 feet (6 m), aiming at the chest. Mikal Gilmore in his autobiography stated that when he examined the shirt worn by Gary during the execution, he found five bullet holes, indicating that all members of the squad had been armed with live cartridges, and none with a blank round.
The only other recent execution by firing squad (that of John Albert Taylor in 1996) also took place in Utah. Taylor is said to have chosen the firing squad because it would be awkward for state officials.
In Utah, the firing squad (a 5 man team) consisted of volunteer peace officers from the county in which the conviction of the offender took place. A law passed on March 15, 2004 banned execution by firing squad in Utah, but since that specific law was not retroactive, four inmates on Utah's death row could still have their last requests granted. As of 2006, Idaho and Oklahoma are the only other states in which execution by firing squad is still legally available (as back up methods only; both states use lethal injection as their primary methods of execution).
2006-10-12 09:34:20 · answer #2 · answered by mike c 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only in the states of Idaho and Oklahoma, according to wikipedia.
Utah recently stopped allowing the choosing of firing squad -- but death row inmates who have been there from before that law could still be allowed to choose a firing squad.
2006-10-12 18:10:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When on death row, you are fresh out of options. The thing that bugs me is why people spend so much time there. Must be boring ...
2006-10-12 09:34:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Last I heard, Utah still had this as an option.
2006-10-12 10:14:01 · answer #5 · answered by correrafan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No
2006-10-12 09:40:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no
2006-10-12 09:45:49 · answer #7 · answered by Isaac G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋