firing squad

Firing squad executions have historically been used worldwide to punish military mutinies and desertion, as a form of frontier justice in the American Old West, and as a tool of political repression in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

Some U.S. lawmakers have advocated reviving the firing squad as an execution method, arguing it can be quicker and more humane than lethal injection, particularly after several botched lethal-injection executions.

Shortages and procurement difficulties for lethal-injection drugs have caused pauses in executions in some U.S. jurisdictions and have prompted some state legislatures to consider or adopt alternative execution methods such as firing squads.

Some U.S. jurisdictions have authorized or introduced the firing squad as an execution method when shortages or difficulties obtaining drugs for lethal injection made lethal injection impracticable.

Firing squads have historically been associated with suppressing mutinies and desertion in armies, with frontier justice in America’s Old West, and with political terror and repression in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

South Carolina permits condemned inmates to choose their method of execution from among lethal injection, firing squad, or the electric chair.

The firing squad execution method has historical associations with military mutinies and desertion, frontier justice in America's Old West, and political repression in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.