SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Death penalty abolitionist Abe Bonowitz of Death Penalty Action protests near the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex in Indiana on July 15, 2020. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In a move described by death penalty abolitionists as "barbaric," South Carolina on Friday gave the final approval for executions by firing squad.
According to The State, the South Carolina Department of Corrections informed state Attorney General Alan Wilson that the agency is now able to shoot condemned inmates to death using a three-person volunteer team.
A law passed last year in the Republican-led state gives condemned prisoners the choice between the electric chair, firing squad, or lethal injection, if available. The state has been unable to procure lethal injection drugs for years, as international and domestic manufacturers have been increasingly reluctant to allow their products to be used to kill people.
The Associated Press reports Democratic state Sen. Dick Harpootlian--a former prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney--introduced the firing squad option as a more "humane" alternative to the electric chair and lethal injection, which are both prone to horrific mishaps.
\u201cParticularly barbaric: South Carolina institutes firing squad executions | Reuters https://t.co/jdE6muomGC\u201d— deborah amos (@deborah amos) 1647650925
The AP described the firing squad procedure:
According to officials, the death chamber now also includes a metal chair, with restraints, in the corner of the room in which inmates will sit if they choose execution by firing squad. That chair faces a wall with a rectangular opening, 15 feet away, through which the three shooters will fire their weapons...
The three shooters, all volunteers who are employees of the Corrections Department, will have rifles loaded with live ammunition, with their weapons trained on the inmate's heart. A hood will be placed over the head of the inmate, who will be given the opportunity to make a last statement.
Minh Ngo, a California attorney and human rights activist, called the development "absolutely barbaric."
"State-sanctioned murder has no place in a civilized society," she added.
South Carolina now joins Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah in offering condemned prisoners a firing squad option.
There are 35 men awaiting execution in South Carolina, which last put someone to death in 2011 using lethal injection.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
In a move described by death penalty abolitionists as "barbaric," South Carolina on Friday gave the final approval for executions by firing squad.
According to The State, the South Carolina Department of Corrections informed state Attorney General Alan Wilson that the agency is now able to shoot condemned inmates to death using a three-person volunteer team.
A law passed last year in the Republican-led state gives condemned prisoners the choice between the electric chair, firing squad, or lethal injection, if available. The state has been unable to procure lethal injection drugs for years, as international and domestic manufacturers have been increasingly reluctant to allow their products to be used to kill people.
The Associated Press reports Democratic state Sen. Dick Harpootlian--a former prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney--introduced the firing squad option as a more "humane" alternative to the electric chair and lethal injection, which are both prone to horrific mishaps.
\u201cParticularly barbaric: South Carolina institutes firing squad executions | Reuters https://t.co/jdE6muomGC\u201d— deborah amos (@deborah amos) 1647650925
The AP described the firing squad procedure:
According to officials, the death chamber now also includes a metal chair, with restraints, in the corner of the room in which inmates will sit if they choose execution by firing squad. That chair faces a wall with a rectangular opening, 15 feet away, through which the three shooters will fire their weapons...
The three shooters, all volunteers who are employees of the Corrections Department, will have rifles loaded with live ammunition, with their weapons trained on the inmate's heart. A hood will be placed over the head of the inmate, who will be given the opportunity to make a last statement.
Minh Ngo, a California attorney and human rights activist, called the development "absolutely barbaric."
"State-sanctioned murder has no place in a civilized society," she added.
South Carolina now joins Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah in offering condemned prisoners a firing squad option.
There are 35 men awaiting execution in South Carolina, which last put someone to death in 2011 using lethal injection.
In a move described by death penalty abolitionists as "barbaric," South Carolina on Friday gave the final approval for executions by firing squad.
According to The State, the South Carolina Department of Corrections informed state Attorney General Alan Wilson that the agency is now able to shoot condemned inmates to death using a three-person volunteer team.
A law passed last year in the Republican-led state gives condemned prisoners the choice between the electric chair, firing squad, or lethal injection, if available. The state has been unable to procure lethal injection drugs for years, as international and domestic manufacturers have been increasingly reluctant to allow their products to be used to kill people.
The Associated Press reports Democratic state Sen. Dick Harpootlian--a former prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney--introduced the firing squad option as a more "humane" alternative to the electric chair and lethal injection, which are both prone to horrific mishaps.
\u201cParticularly barbaric: South Carolina institutes firing squad executions | Reuters https://t.co/jdE6muomGC\u201d— deborah amos (@deborah amos) 1647650925
The AP described the firing squad procedure:
According to officials, the death chamber now also includes a metal chair, with restraints, in the corner of the room in which inmates will sit if they choose execution by firing squad. That chair faces a wall with a rectangular opening, 15 feet away, through which the three shooters will fire their weapons...
The three shooters, all volunteers who are employees of the Corrections Department, will have rifles loaded with live ammunition, with their weapons trained on the inmate's heart. A hood will be placed over the head of the inmate, who will be given the opportunity to make a last statement.
Minh Ngo, a California attorney and human rights activist, called the development "absolutely barbaric."
"State-sanctioned murder has no place in a civilized society," she added.
South Carolina now joins Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah in offering condemned prisoners a firing squad option.
There are 35 men awaiting execution in South Carolina, which last put someone to death in 2011 using lethal injection.