[Afisra]

Four holes. One random blank so no one knows for sure who killed him?

[Afisra]

He had the choice of lethal injection. He chose lethal lead injection.

[Kenton]

Four holes. One random blank so no one knows for sure who killed him?

When you shoot a high-powered rifle with a live round, there is a significant recoil. The heavier the bullet, the greater the recoil.

Blanks have no projectile, so they have no recoil.

I'd say that everybody on the firing squad knows whether or not he fired a live round or a blank. Using one blank is an old way of making it easier for the shooters to rationalize pulling the trigger, because theoretically, they don't know for sure if their rifle is loaded.

[rickomatic]

Four holes. One random blank so no one knows for sure who killed him?

It is quite obvious to anyone even slightly familiar with firearms that firing a blank feels totally different than firing a round with a projectile. One shooter with a blank to "mask" who actually shot him is silly, in my mind. I've fired lots of blanks, and I don't recall feeling any recoil whatsoever. Now, as far as those saying these were "lousy" shots...what are you?....Olympic shooters? Hitting a circle within a 2" square is NOT bad shooting, especially at such a short distance. Heck, even hitting the 2" square for the "flyer" shot isn't that bad. I think too many people watch too much TV, and think that every firearm is a tack driver capable of minute of angle accuracy for anyone who picks up a gun. Shooting something with a long range round accurately at close range is actually pretty hard.

[Mountain Troll]

Not exactly. The purpose of the blank round is to make it easier for the shooter to pull the trigger. If he’s got any last minute qualms about taking a human life, he can hope that he’s got the blank.

(Yes, I know we’re talking about the death of a convicted killer. Conscience is the difference between a murderer and an executioner.)