Thursday, March 12, 2015

Utah considering bringing back execution by firing squad.

As their supplies of the usual drug execution drugs dwindles and they become hard to get, a bill awaits Utah's governor to permit execution by firing squad. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of public opposition to the death penalty, at least as it now exists. The abolition movement is strong and growing.   In a number of states there  have been mass commutations, clemencies, and moratoriums.  A few have abolished the penalty.  I think this  whole area of the law needs wholesale revision to limit the number of offenses that are deemed "capital," and to assure that all capital defendants get qualified attorneys, and protections against police and prosecutorial misconduct that taints trials. Further, some methods of execution may violate the 8th Amend ban on cruel and unusual punishment. 

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