Bring back firing squads? We do worse
Some prison officials in different states have become desperate enough to run cash-only transactions with unregulated compounding pharmacies for untested drug cocktails, according to news reports.
"Given these recurring problems with lethal injections," David Waisel, an associate professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, told the Washington Post, "if I had to be executed, I would choose a firing squad."
He's not alone. Lawmakers in several states have debated bringing back the electric chair, the gas chamber and hanging, among other old-school alternatives -- including measures in Missouri and Wyoming to bring back the firing squad as an option.
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, has said he thinks such moves could backfire, stirring a backlash by a shocked and horrified public against the death penalty. He can only hope. So do I.
Since the end of the Civil War, there have been three civilian firing squad executions in the U.S., all in Utah. One was Gary Gilmore who chose a firing squad for his execution, which ended a 17-year national moratorium imposed by the Supreme Court. Compared to the uncertainty of today's lethal injections, Gilmore's choice makes more sense than ever.
As we can see, his death didn't end executions. But I since have been relieved to see capital punishment is losing its appeal. The numbers of executions has fallen by more than half since its modern peak in 2000, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. A half-dozen more states have abolished capital punishment over the last seven years as others have imposed moratoriums or debated legislation to repeal it.
The firing squad sounds more shocking than other options. But on a subject this serious, we need to be shocked.
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E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.
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