Deborah Denno talks to Vice about how a bill passed by the Utah Senate Tuesday approving execution by firing squad represents the latest move toward antiquated execution methods in states that are running out of lethal injection drugs, signaling a turning point for the death penalty in the US.
“You have states that have to carry out these executions. As a political issue they have to, and I think it’s pragmatics. If they can’t do it by lethal injection, they’ll do it by electrocution,” said Deborah W. Denno, professor of law at Fordham University School of Law. “It’s also a medical issue. They have to have clean drugs if they’re injecting them into people.”
The public’s perception of the humaneness of different execution methods may not line up with reality, according to Fordham University’s Denno. Though electrocution is clearly “barbaric,” she said, “I think differently about firing squad.”
“It’s clearly a more humane method. People think it’s the most barbaric because it’s oldest method we have on the books, or at least just as old as hanging,” he said. “But the firing squad is quick. People die quickly with dignity. There’s a target on their heart and their heart gets blown out.”
Still, headlines about botched executions and the legalization of other forms of execution may be eroding Americans’ support for the death penalty. Last year saw the fewest executions in 20 years. Denno said jurors are now less likely to sentence criminals to the death than in the past.
Read the entire Vice article here.