Poor form. Backing off a couple of feet reduces the cleaning bills.
Prisoner kneels. Executioner approaches him from behind. Puts gun at back of head. Simultaneously with firing the executioner also kicks the prisoner in the back. No cleaning bills.
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No no.... Prisoner is told he is free to go, led to the lifeboat, and then just as he is about to be freed, all smiles at his good fortune, then and only then, does the bullet find the back of his head.
Or that's how the Russians did it in the 30s. Maybe they forgot the finer points in the rush to avoid the cleaning bill?