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And a Utah Execution Witness Speaks

By Steve Hall

KSL-TV of Salt Lake City reports, "Firing squad executions: A look back and a look ahead," by Andrew Adams. Paul Murphy was a TV news reporter in 1996 when he witnessed John Albert Taylor being put to death. He still remembers that day vividly -- first the long wait, then the breathless fury that ended in a hail of gunfire. "Still to this day it's probably the most shocking thing I've ever seen," Murphy told KSL Newsradio. Waiting in a viewing room to the side of the execution chamber, Murphy saw the curtains pull open suddenly. After prison officials asked if Taylor had any last words, his execution followed just as swiftly. "It was ready, aim, fire, and I couldn't catch my breath," Murphy recalled...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on June 11, 2010 (boomark / email).