Legal Commentary

NH Legislator Tries to Bring Back Firing Squads

By Jeralyn

Via Sentencing Law and Policy, a legislator in New Hampshire has introduced a bill to restore executions by firing squad.

Burridge’s bill recommends a firing squad of five men, one whose gun carries blanks, to keep it unclear which shooter is responsible for death. During the execution, the prisoner would be hooded and wear a target over his heart. Each shooter would aim for that target.

Burridge said he chose the method primarily for its public-relations value. He said he thought a death by shooting might be more likely to stick in the minds of would-be criminals and deter them from committing crimes using guns. “I call it the enhanced death penalty,” he said. “You’ve got to love the marketing.”

[More...]

Sorry, Mr. Burridge, there's nothing to love about any aspect of capital punishment. The article quotes studies finding that death by firing squad may be more humane than lethal injection.

No form of execution is humane.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 15, 2009 (boomark / email).