How Does Execution By Firing Squad Work?
How does execution by firing squad actually work?
First the inmate is bound to the executioners chair via leather straps. The inmate is surrounded by sandbags, wooden paneling or a cloth to absorb the inmate's blood. After they’re bound to the chair a black hood is placed over the inmates head.
A doctor will then use a stethoscope to identify the heart and will place a cloth target over it.
Standing around 20ft away are five shooters armed with .30-30 Winchester Model 94 rifles each loaded with a single round. 4 of the shooters have live rounds with one having blanks. But the shooters don’t know who has the blank round, giving them plausible deniability
Each shooter will then aim at the inmates heart with them all firing in unison. If done properly the inmate should fall unconscious and die extremely quickly from a ruptured heart.
This method of execution is currently used by 5 US States with the last case of death by firing squad being the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010.
This may seem like a more barbaric method of execution but 0 firing squad executions have been botched since 1890. When you compare this to the 75 botched lethal injection executions or a 7.12% botch rate,
The current most popular choice of execution is lethal injection that has a 7.12% botched execution rate or 75 botched executions from 1890– 2014. So it’s not hard to see why some say death by firing squad is actually the most humane method and should be brought back in more states.