Utah resumes firing squad execution

onnaedo

March 24, 2015 11:55 AM

State Governor, Gary Herbert reportedly signed a law approving the method's use when no lethal-injection drugs are available.

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The US state of Utah will resume firing squad executions following the state governor's approval.

State Governor, Gary Herbert reportedly signed a law approving the method's use when no lethal-injection drugs are available.

According to Al Jazeera, Herbert said on Monday that he finds the firing squad "a little bit gruesome," but Utah is a capital punishment state and needs a backup execution method in case a shortage of the drugs persists.

Utah is one of several states seeking new forms of capital punishment after a botched Oklahoma lethal injection last year and the firing squad approval is the latest illustration of some states' frustration over bungled executions and difficulty obtaining the drugs.

States have struggled to keep up their drug inventories as European manufacturers opposed to capital punishment refuse to sell the components of lethal injections to US prisons.

While some US lawmakers including the bill's sponsor, Republican Representative Paul Ray have argued in favour of the move, saying the firing sqaud execution method is faster and more decent, others have described it as barbaric and backward.

onnaedo