The Mechanics of the Firing Squad for Ronnie Lee Gardner (Utah-Midnight)

ABC ^ | June 17, 2010 | RAY SANCHEZ

[Second Amendment First]

Sometime after midnight Friday, Ronnie Lee Gardner is to be strapped into a chair in the execution chamber at the state prison in Draper, Utah. A black hood is to be slipped over the bald head of the 49-year-old convicted killer, if he wishes. A small circular target will be pinned over his heart.

It has been 14 years since rifles were last fired in a state execution. Barring a last-minute reprieve, Gardner will be only the third person to die before a firing squad in Utah  or anywhere else in the nation  since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

The simple mechanics of an old fashioned execution by firing squad are cold blooded, efficient and have just a hint of consideration for the person living his last moments.

[central_va]

Gary Gilmore redux....

[SJSAMPLE]

“Let’s do it!”

[TheThirdRuffian]

I would prefer this over the drug thing, too.

Much more of a manly death.

[WOBBLY BOB]

Smile and wait for the flash.

[businessprofessor]

I thought that the Supreme Court put a stop to midnight executions. The justices do not like to be disturbed at that time for last minute appeals.

[Psalm 73]

"In Utah, the weapon of choice for firing squads is the .30-caliber rifle, which uses powerful .30-30 cartridges...."

Winchester lever-actions?

[dnandell]

Will it be televised? I want to watch! (kidding - kind of)

[Churchillspirit]

Can never understand the last meal thing....who could have an appetite under those circumstances?

[oyez]

The final cigarette is mythical

We wouldn't want the condemned to endanger his health, would we?

[EyeGuy]

“...just a hint of consideration for the person living his last moments.’

####

Dripping with irony.....

[theDentist]

"No man who has ever lived on this earth could survive four rounds from a .30-30 rifle to the chest," DeLand said.

Nothing like tempting Fate.

[Ouderkirk]

The people have had 25+ years to accept their fate. Certainly more than their victims had.

[Responsibility2nd]

From last year.

 

Lawyer: Ohio execution on hold after vein troubles
Assoc. Press ^ | 09/15/2009

Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 2:43:18 PM by Responsibility2nd

LUCASVILLE, Ohio – A lawyer for a condemned inmate in the state death chamber says execution team members have taken a break after struggling to access the inmate's veins.

 

There are more threads - more stories that show how some states can screw up lethal injections. All things considered... A firing sqaud is more humane.

 

But - hanging is best.

[Second Amendment First]

If it were .22's the press would still describe them as "powerful".

The five anonymous riflemen, all state law enforcement officers, will stand behind a brick wall with a gunport. They will aim at the target on Gardner's heart from about 25 feet away. Four of the five rifles will be loaded with live rounds. The weapon with the blank round is unknown.

I think the guy with the blanks will know, as will the others, after practicing for the main event.

[Mr. K]

The magazine “American Spectator” often has a ‘food critic’-type description and review of the last meal of convicted dirtbags.

It is oddly hilarious.

[Second Amendment First]

More concerned about second hand smoke (not gunsmoke).

[Second Amendment First]

Modern firing squad executions in the U.S. have gone smoothly, but it was not unusual in the past for several rounds to strike the prisoner without killing him. In such cases, a final shot was fired at close range to put the inmate out of his misery.

[Hot Tabasco]

who could have an appetite under those circumstances

My last meal request would be for an all you can eat buffett.........

[HIDEK6]

Firing squad is much less fearsome than the guillotine or the electric chair.

It's an honorable way to go.

Criminal scum do not deserve it.