firing squad

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Lethal Drugs Now Rare, States Eye Old-School Executions

Drug shortage raises talk of firing squads, electrocution

(Newser) - With lethal-injection drugs in short supply and new questions looming about their effectiveness, lawmakers in some death penalty states are considering bringing back relics of a more gruesome past: firing squads, electrocutions, and gas chambers. Most states abandoned those execution methods more than a generation ago, but to some elected...

Missouri Lawmaker Wants Firing Squads, Too
Missouri Lawmaker Wants Firing Squads, Too
in case you missed it
Jan 19, 2014 7:00 PM CST

Missouri Lawmaker Wants Firing Squads, Too

Proposed bill follows similar one in Wyoming

(Newser) - Do two states make a trend? After a lawmaker in Wyoming proposed the return of firing squads, a lawmaker in Missouri has done the same, reports Raw Story . State Rep. Rick Brattin filed a bill this week that would allow the state to execute prisoners the old-fashioned way, in part...

Wyo. Senator to Try to Bring Back Firing Squads

Because gas chambers are 'cruel and unusual'

(Newser) - That there is a shortage of lethal injection drugs is not news, but a Wyoming senator's response to the situation is. Republican state Sen. Bruce Burns yesterday very simply pointed to state law, which commands a gas chamber to be used if those drugs aren't accessible. Except Wyoming...

Kim Jong Un's Ex-Girlfriend Executed: Report

Hyon Song Wol said to be killed by firing squad on Aug. 20

(Newser) - A pretty jarring report out of North Korea, which claims that Kim Jong Un's former girlfriend was executed by a machine gun-toting firing squad last week. Chosun Ilbo reports by way of sources in China that Hyon Song Wol (of "Electric Horse-Lady" fame ) was arrested on Aug....

Saudi Problem: Not Enough Swordsmen for Executions

Firing squads now an acceptable alternative

(Newser) - The only country in the world that still beheads criminals is facing a shortage of swordsmen, leading Saudi Arabian authorities to rule that using a firing squad is an acceptable alternative to publicly lopping the heads of those convicted of crimes including murder, drug trafficking, and apostasy, the New York ...

Fla. Politician: It's Time to Bring Back Firing Squads

Lethal injection is too painless, argues state Rep. Brad Drake

(Newser) - Lethal injection is just such a pleasant way to die. At least according to Florida state Rep. Brad Drake, who wants to put an end to the execution method in the state. He argues that Death Row killers shouldn't be allowed to "get off that easy"; the electric...

Somali Militants Execute Teens
 Somali Militants Execute Teens 
Nov 23, 2010 10:05 AM CST

Somali Militants Execute Teens

The two boys were accused of molestation, spying, respectively

(Newser) - Militants from Somalia's most feared insurgent group used a firing squad to execute two teenagers in public yesterday, say witnesses and officials. The executions took place in front of hundreds of people summoned to witness the killings in the capital. The firing squad was made up of five masked men....

Is Death by Firing Squad the Way to Go?
 Is Death by 
 Firing Squad 
 the Way to Go? 
death penalty debate
Jun 19, 2010 5:30 PM CDT

Is Death by Firing Squad the Way to Go?

Or is lethal injection better?

(Newser) - Convicted murder Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad just after midnight yesterday—at his own request. Did he make the right choice? Though the method may sound gory—Gardner was strapped into a chair with a mesh seat to allow the blood to drain through—it's not...

Utah AG Tweets Execution News

Critics find social media approach disrespectful

(Newser) - Today's execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner —the first by firing squad in 14 years—was also likely the first execution announced on Twitter, Mashable reports. Utah AG Mark Shurtleff tweeted about the event: “I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner’s execution....

Utah Firing Squad Executes Inmate

No reprieve for Ronnie Lee Gardner

(Newser) - Ronnie Lee Gardner became the first American executed by firing squad in the 21st century at just after midnight in a Utah prison. The convicted killer was strapped into a chair and five police marksmen fired at a target on his chest, AP reports. One gun was loaded with an...

Victim's Family Aims to Block Killer's Execution

Kin: Slain lawyer 'didn't support death penalty'

(Newser) - A murder victim's loved ones are fighting to spare the life of the man who killed him. Ronnie Lee Gardner is due to die by firing squad in Utah next month for attorney Michael Burdell's murder, but the victim's father, former girlfriend, and close friend will testify on the killer's...

China Executes British Drug Smuggler

Akmal Shaikh, said to be mentally ill, dies by firing squad

(Newser) - Despite protests from the British government and human-rights activists worldwide, China today executed by firing squad a Briton convicted of smuggling drugs into the country. Supporters say Akmal Shaikh, 53, had bipolar disorder; the Foreign Office’s complaint centered on concerns China had not taken those issues into account in...

Brit Mom Pleads for Pregnant Daughter in Laos Prison

(Newser) - The mom of a pregnant London woman who may face a Laotian firing squad for drug smuggling pleaded with government officials to save "my baby, my angel," reports the Telegraph. "I'm appealing to the British government, to the Laos authorities, to please release her. I'm down on...

Steely Ra&uacute;l's Time Is Now
Steely Raúl's Time Is Now
Feb 20, 2008 9:37 AM CST

Steely Raúl's Time Is Now

Low-profile No. 2, Fidel's 'organizational glue,' steps into Cuba's top job

(Newser) - The Castro brothers overthrew a dictatorship and won a revolution together, but while charismatic Fidel was the public face giving passionate seven-hour speeches, steely Raúl quietly got it done—ruthlessly sending dissenters to the firing squad, earning him the nickname "the Prussian." As Fidel fades, writes the...

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