Deborah Denno comments to Al Jazeera on the execution of a convicted killer by firing squad in the US state of Utah that revived a style of justice that has not been used for 14 years.
Deborah Denno, professor of law at Fordham University in the US, told Al Jazeera the case had reignited the political debate on capital punishment, with some arguing that while it may seem brutal, use of the firing squad may actually be more humane than other options.
“Lethal injection started to be used in the United States in 1982. Consistently over the decades it’s been shown to have vast numbers of problems, in the way that the firing squad never has,” she said.
“For the observers lethal injection looks much better, it looks like the inmate is simply going to sleep. Those who have observed a firing squad execution report being more disturbed.”
Denno said many of those states that retained the death penalty were choosing lethal injection “because it’s better for the witnesses, but it’s actually worse for the inmate”.
“I think execution methods in general, in addition to finding that inmates have been innocent after being executed – bit by bit this is wearing down the death penalty in the United States,” she said.
Read the entire Al Jazeera story.