After a South Carolina man chose death by firing squad Friday, Fordham Law Professor Deborah Denno, death penalty expert and founding director of Fordham Law’s Neuroscience and Law Center, spoke with NBC News about today’s methods of executions—including which one is gaining more traction across the United States.
Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham Law School who studies the death penalty, said execution by firing squad remains one of the “least inhumane” options compared to other methods, including lethal injection and nitrogen gas, given how quickly someone can die after being shot in the heart.
Its return hearkens back to other periods in American history when firing squads were more common, such as the colonial era and the Civil War, when it was used against deserters.
“Even though [a firing squad]was used in our very first execution in 1608, we’ve never had this many states adopt statutorily the firing squad until now,” Denno said, adding that a bill in Idaho would make it the primary execution method.
Read “South Carolina kills death-row prisoner in state’s first firing squad execution” on NBC News.