Utah House Approves Bringing Back Firing Squads
[su_right_ad]Why move forward into this century, when you can stay in the last one, or the one before that?
Rep. Paul Ray, a Republican from Clearfield who is sponsoring the measure, said after the vote Friday that he thinks it will be just as close in the Senate, and he hasn’t started trying to press his case in that chamber.
Lawmakers in House of Representatives initially voted 35-35 on the proposal [su_thin_right_skyscraper_ad]Friday morning. But Ray asked for three missing lawmakers to be summoned to the floor, where they all voted in favor…
Ray argues that a team of trained marksmen is faster and more humane than the drawn-out deaths that have occurred in botched lethal injections. His bill would call for a firing squad if Utah cannot get lethal injection drugs 30 days before an execution.
Critics say the firing squad is a gruesome relic of Utah’s Wild West past and would bring international condemnation upon the state. That criticism and excessive media attention was one of the reasons many lawmakers voted in 2004 to stop allowing condemned prisoners to choose death by firing squad.
Suzanne McFly February 17th, 2015 at 7:16 pm
I would be fine with this form of punishment for pedophiles with DNA evidence.
Larry Schmitt February 17th, 2015 at 7:33 pm
And let’s start with the Utah House.
whatthe46 February 17th, 2015 at 7:37 pm
no one lives matter much more in this fk’n country.
Mike February 17th, 2015 at 8:13 pm
Why not the guillotine…???
fahvel February 18th, 2015 at 3:27 am
doesn’t work too well – folks tuck their chins when they hear the noise and often just cut their heads in half – too aesthetically unpleasant for the French psyche.
fancypants February 18th, 2015 at 5:09 pm
and refuse them the right to bare arms ??
Hirightnow February 17th, 2015 at 8:20 pm
Sure, if you’re gonna kill people, there are worse ways.
I’d only change one thing: ALL of the squad gets live ammo.
No crippling doubt as to whether you fired that fatal shot…or not.
You would know that you did, and could sleep soundly, unplagued by doubt.
Or not.
tracey marie February 17th, 2015 at 8:34 pm
barbaric
Candide Thirtythree February 18th, 2015 at 4:27 am
that is a synonym for republican isn’t it?
Bunya February 17th, 2015 at 9:02 pm
Why stop there? Why not go way back and dust off the old the iron maiden or the brazen bull? Maybe they can erect an arena, charge people to see the torture/execution? Firing squads are barbaric and inhumane.
fahvel February 18th, 2015 at 3:26 am
but executing people is not? If you are gonna kill em, who cares how – it all turns out the same in the end when killing has become a part of the culture.
Bunya February 18th, 2015 at 9:44 am
I didn’t say that. I am a staunch pacifist. Killing anybody/anything for any reason is, in my opinion, unnecessary. There’s always a better way. We just don’t have the patience to try and discover one.
MarcoZandrini February 18th, 2015 at 10:15 am
Amen!
John Tarter February 18th, 2015 at 5:30 pm
So 2 miscreants wanted for rape and murder arrive at your home shooting guns attempting to force their way in. Inside is you and five little 7-10 year old girls having a sleepover. You have called 911 but help is at least 10 minutes away and you know there are firearms in the house, know how to use them and you do what?
whatthe46 February 18th, 2015 at 5:48 pm
don’t be stupid!!!
John Tarter February 18th, 2015 at 8:17 pm
Why was that question stupid? It is a legitimate query for someone who says no killing of anyone or anything for any reason.
whatthe46 February 18th, 2015 at 8:35 pm
your comprehension is so damn faulty.
Obewon February 18th, 2015 at 8:35 pm
You’d realize Firing squads are “cruel and unusual punishment” IF you had ever read the Constitution, or SCOTUS rulings…
NW10 February 17th, 2015 at 9:58 pm
Let’s bring back drawing and quartering as well while we’re at it!
majii February 18th, 2015 at 3:04 am
This is not too unusual in Utah. I remember when a guy named Gary Gilmore was executed in Utah by firing squad in the late 1970s, so we could look at this as them doing what they know. It’s sad, though, that they have to reach back into the state’s past to revive the firing squad to execute those sitting on death row in their state.
Candide Thirtythree February 18th, 2015 at 4:26 am
always republicans
rg9rts February 18th, 2015 at 8:04 am
His son is a NRA Sharpshooter???
Jack E Raynbeau February 18th, 2015 at 9:50 am
We’re a bit behind here in Utah. It took the 2002 Olympics to drag us into the 20th century.
Jack E Raynbeau February 18th, 2015 at 10:02 am
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/2190376-155/bagley-cartoon-humane-execution
MarcoZandrini February 18th, 2015 at 10:15 am
I had the weirdest dream last night about a firing squad executing a woman. The first volley missed her heart completely. So they brought in an all-female firing squad! Weird!
Capital punishment doesn’t deter crime, costs more than a sentence of life without parole and runs the chance of killing an innocent person. Google “Todd Wittingham Texas.”
illinoisboy1977 February 18th, 2015 at 10:46 am
While I don’t disagree that violence can be counterproductive, we ARE a violent species. It’s in our nature. Because of this, I feel that the death penalty is necessary, to insure that the worst among us are not going to get the opportunity to ever kill again. The firing squad, while loud and messy, is a quick and humane way of dispatching someone. Moreso than a method that paralyzes you and slowly suffocates you to death. Given the choice, I’d rather take a handful of 30-30 slugs to the chest. That being said, we need to continue to improve our standards for a burden of proof, which will only allow such a penalty in cases where scientific and physical evidence of guilt are overwhelming.
Khary A February 18th, 2015 at 11:18 am
*sigh* Firing squad..really? Is that how far we’ve come, the proto-typical manner that fascist regimes always choose to get rid of their undesirables!? What the Hell happened to people!?! Seriously what BJ isn’t this guy getting that this is a good plan?
I’ve seen people shot and its a mess, not nearly as neat and clean as these people think it is. Unless it’s in the face which isn’t really the thing as we are a civilized country and we try to not mutilate for punishment practices.
Personally if I was convicted of a crime that warranted the death sentence and I got to pick my way of execution it’s the Monty Python: Meaning of Life way…all the way.
Apocalypse February 18th, 2015 at 1:42 pm
Animals are humanely euthanized routinely, why is it so difficult for people? Not that I’m for the death penalty…