"Say Hello to my Little Friend"

We all remember that line from the best mob movie ever made, Scarface. The barrage of bullets that followed as Tony Montana unleashed his M16 assault rifle on the henchmen sent to kill him. Turns out in Utah, you can request a firing squad as your choice of death if you are death row instead of lethal injection. At first, when I saw the article I thought that there was no way that death by a firing squad still exists in the US. Although Utah no longer allows it if convicted of a crime and sentenced to death, those that were sentenced prior to 2004 can take option B, the firing squad. I personally think that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and will probably be stopped by some court order. I have read about the quickness and efficiency of lethal injection in the prison system and I believe that it is the most humane way to die if sentenced to death.

The story is about Ronnie Lee Garner who shot and killed a lawyer back in 1985 during an escape from jail gone wrong. When the judge asked him on April 21,2010, "lethal injection or firing squad?", he chose the latter. Critics contend that it needs to be abolished as it a relic from the Wild West days back in Utah. According to wikipedia, there have been an estimated 142 deaths from firing squads in the US, but most date back to the times of the Civil War. Surprisingly, Utah is not the only state that allows for death by firing squad. The only other state is Oklahoma, but here it is only allowed as a backup. If Mr. Garner is granted his wish, he will be the third person since the US Supreme Court in 1976 allowed the continuance of the death penalty. Mr. Garner's lawyer has stated that he will probably appeal his clients death, now scheduled for June 2010. I don't think that with all the media coverage and human rights activists that this death will be carried out especially the way a firing squad works with five men pointing a gun, 20 feet away while Mr. Garner is blindfolded. I agree that this seems like it is out of the old west, and not going to fly in this day and age.

Mr. Garner happens to be just the beginning as there are three others sitting on death row in Utah that also want to be shot. I think they are going to be very disappointed when the Supreme Court strikes it down and they end up having to spend the rest of their days in an 8x8 room. There is however one benefit from this type of death as the only organ that is harmed is typically the heart, allowing for the other organs to be donated. But this also assumes that the shooters have decent aim and don't miss.

I am firmly against this type of death and I guess that I will have to wait and see if this is going to be allowed as it is not humane. I don't think that it will be allowed and I know that there are others who feel the same way.