Utah Brought Back Death Penalty By Firing Squad Because I Guess There Are Badasses In Utah?

(Source) – Gov. Gary Herbert on Monday gave his stamp of approval to a law that brings back the firing squad in the only state that has used it in the past 40 years – Utah. Under the law, firing squads will be a backup method if lethal-injection drugs aren’t available. Utah and other states have struggled to keep up their inventories as European manufacturers opposed to capital punishment refuse to sell the components of lethal injections to U.S. prisons. The prisoner is seated in a chair that is set up in front of a wood panel and in between stacked sandbags that keep the bullets from ricocheting around the room. A target is pinned to the inmate’s heart. Shooters aim for the chest rather than the head because it’s a bigger target and usually allows for a faster death, said Utah Rep. Paul Ray, who sponsored the proposal. The prisoner is offered a two-minute window to offer final words. In 1977, Gary Gilmore used that chance to say, “Let’s do this” before he died. Five shooters set up about 25 feet from the chair, with their .30 caliber Winchester rifles pointing through slots in a wall. Assuming they hit their target, the heart ruptures and the prisoner dies quickly from blood loss.

Love the idea here but hate that Utah is only using it as a backup plan. Fuck that. You should be able to die however you want to. I haven’t read the Constitution in a minute but the only thing it says about this is no cruel and unusual punishment, right? Well if you choose it yourself then it can’t be considered cruel and unusual. So if you want to die with a cigarette in your mouth and 5 bullet holes in your heart then you should be able to do that. If you want to have roman candles shoved up your ass and shot out of your mouth until you die, you should be able to do that. You want to save the American economy? Forget legalizing weed or gambling, just let people choose their deaths in awesome ways and sell tickets to get to watch it. We’re tired of watching people die online, the thrill of it is gone. Doesn’t give me my adrenaline rush anymore when it’s on YouTube. Let’s just do it live.