This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/23/utah-governor-firing-squad-executions

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Utah governor signs law bringing back firing squad for executions Utah governor signs law bringing back firing squad for executions
(34 minutes later)
Utah’s governor has signed a law that makes his state the only one to allow firing squads for carrying out executions if no lethal injection drugs are available. Faced with a nationwide scarcity of execution drugs, Utah’s governor signed a bill into law that will allow the state to use the firing squads in state executions as an alternative to lethal injection.
Governor Gary Herbert signed the bill Monday. He has said he finds the method “a little bit gruesome”, but that it gives the state a fallback execution method. The law allows Utah to use a firing squad only if the lethal injection drugs are unavailable 30 days before an execution is scheduled to take place.
The measure’s approval illustrates the frustration of some states over bungled executions and shortages of lethal-injection drugs. Utah is one of several seeking new forms of capital punishment after a botched Oklahoma lethal injection last year. “Those who voiced opposition to this bill are primarily arguing against capital punishment in general and that decision has already been made in our state,” said Marty Carpenter, spokesman for Herbert. “We regret anyone ever commits the heinous crime of aggravated murder to merit the death penalty and we prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued. However, when a jury makes the decision and a judge signs a death warrant, enforcing that lawful decision is the obligation of the executive branch.”
The bill’s sponsor, Republican representative Paul Ray of Clearfield, touted the firing squad as a more humane form of execution. Opponents say it is barbaric and makes the state look bad. The statement emphasised that lethal injection remains the primary method for carrying out executions in Utah.
Utah lawmakers passed the measure this month amid a nationwide shortage of lethal injection drugs that has left states scrambling. European drug manufacturers have refused to sell the drugs to US prisons out of opposition to capital punishment. With lethal injections in short supply around the country, Utah is one of a handful of states returning to execution practices once abandoned for their gruesome nature.
While Utah is not expected to schedule another execution for several years, lawmakers voted to use the firing squad if the state cannot get lethal injection drugs 30 days in advance. This year, lawmakers in Arkansas are considering a proposal to allow the firing squad, and in Oklahoma, lawmakers there are debating a bill that would allow nitrogen case as an alternative to lethal injections. Other states have debated bringing back the electric chair.
The firing squad as a form of execution in the US has only rarely been usedin the US since the Civil War era. The last execution by firing squad was carried out just five years ago, in Utah.
Utah once gave prisoners sentenced before 2004 the option to choose death by firing squad, and the last prisoner put to death that way was Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010. On his execution day, five anonymous marksmen took aim at a target pinned over his heart and fired. One of the guns was loaded with blanks, so no one would know who fired the fatal shot.
While Utah is not currently expected to schedule another execution for several years.
Herbert’s office said last week he had received hundreds of letters about the measure.Herbert’s office said last week he had received hundreds of letters about the measure.
A good chunk of the messages in opposition came from a campaign against the proposal by the American Civil Liberties Union, where individuals could write to the governor with a pre-written email.A good chunk of the messages in opposition came from a campaign against the proposal by the American Civil Liberties Union, where individuals could write to the governor with a pre-written email.
The governor’s office received out-of-state phone calls about the bill. But it only tracks those from Utah residents and had none to report.The governor’s office received out-of-state phone calls about the bill. But it only tracks those from Utah residents and had none to report.
The messages Herbert did receive were primarily emails and came from people in Utah and those living as far away as Rhode Island, Minnesota and even New Zealand.The messages Herbert did receive were primarily emails and came from people in Utah and those living as far away as Rhode Island, Minnesota and even New Zealand.
Several people wrote to say they would not vacation in Utah if the bill is approved. “I will never again come to Utah to ski if this barbaric execution style is used again in your state,” wrote Randy Kilmer, a Seattle resident. Gary Gilmore was executed by a Utah firing squad in 1977, having asked for that method after a moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in 1976, but a 2004 law made lethal injection the only valid form of execution.Several people wrote to say they would not vacation in Utah if the bill is approved. “I will never again come to Utah to ski if this barbaric execution style is used again in your state,” wrote Randy Kilmer, a Seattle resident. Gary Gilmore was executed by a Utah firing squad in 1977, having asked for that method after a moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in 1976, but a 2004 law made lethal injection the only valid form of execution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.