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Utah getting ready for an "old school" execution

By Douglas A. Berman

The AP has this lengthy new piece about a high-profile upcoming execution in Utah. The piece is headlined "At inmate's request, Utah prepares firing squad," and here is how it begins: Barring a last-minute reprieve, Ronnie Lee Gardner will be strapped into a chair, a hood will be placed over his head and a small white target will be pinned over his heart. The order will come: "Ready, aim..." The 49-year-old convicted killer will be executed by a team of five anonymous marksmen firing with a matched set of .30-caliber rifles. He is to be the third person executed by firing squad in Utah - or anywhere else in the U.S. - since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Utah was a long holdout in keeping the method, which it has used in 40 of its 49 executions in the last 160 years...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 09, 2010 (boomark / email).