Live by the gun, die by the gun: Utah man to die by firing squad - Polidicks

[release] Utah death-row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner is set to be executed by firing squad on Friday. Thirty-five states allow the death penalty, but death by firing squad remains an option only in the state of Utah. For 25 years, Gardner has tried to evade the death chamber. And for 25 years, VelDean Kirk has waited to see him walk into it. "It'll be a closure because for 25 years, it hasn't closed a bit," Kirk says. Every detail of April 2, 1985 is burned into her memory. Gardner was in court on a murder charge when he tried to escape. An accomplice slipped him a gun, and he shot and killed an attorney and also severely wounded Kirk's husband, Nick Kirk, who was a bailiff. Kirk didn't die, but he wasn't the same active, cheerful man anymore. His final years were marked by excruciating pain and depression from a sedentary life. His daughter, Tami Stewart, feels sorry for Gardner, but she can't forgive him. She imagines him in the death chamber. "He's going to feel that fear that he put into every one of those men. He's done. We've given him more than enough," Stewart says. Gardner did get one choice: how he would die. In court, after being told he'd exhausted his appeals, the 49-year-old made his preference known. "I would like the firing squad, please, he told the court in April. And with those words, Utah officials expected they would soon be fielding calls from CNN and the international press. Utah's last firing squad execution 14 years ago attracted more than 150 news crews from across the globe. They were interested in one thing: the method of execution. Lawmakers, upset by the media circus, voted to eliminate the firing squad as an option. The law, though, grandfathers in the five death row inmates who chose it prior to the ban. Utah historian Will Bagley says the reason this method of execution has been so prominent in Utah's history goes back to the Mormon religion. [URL]http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127905527[/URL] [/release] That's pretty awesome.

I remember hearing about this. What a bad-ass. :frogc00l:

He's doing a service to his fellow taxpayer by dying cheaply. They should bring this back. It's quicker, simpler, less painful (believe it or not), and cheaper. Also much more badass.

Damn. [editline]08:30PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Jewsus;22688728]He's doing a service to his fellow taxpayer by dying cheaply. They should bring this back. It's quicker, simpler, less painful (believe it or not), and cheaper. Also much more badass.[/QUOTE] It's the process of allowing the execution to actually take place that is so expensive. You didn't actually think the injection chemical costed millions did you?

[QUOTE=Jewsus;22688728]He's doing a service to his fellow taxpayer by dying cheaply. They should bring this back. It's quicker, simpler, less painful (believe it or not), and cheaper. Also much more badass.[/QUOTE] uh, no it's not. the death penalty costs more than a life sentence. and this guy was on death row for 25 YEARS. [editline]04:32PM[/editline] good to know that the US is still in the dark ages

what is death by firing squad?

Its not the actual execution that costs money, its the millions in legal costs.

[QUOTE=JDK721;22688758]uh, no it's not. the death penalty costs more than a life sentence. and this guy was on death row for 25 YEARS. [editline]04:32PM[/editline] good to know that the US is still in the dark ages[/QUOTE] He chose to die by the gun. No one made him.

[QUOTE=Jewsus;22688728]He's doing a service to his fellow taxpayer by dying cheaply. They should bring this back. It's quicker, simpler, less painful (believe it or not), and cheaper. Also much more badass.[/QUOTE] Only painless if the people are 100% accurate. Sure they are, but...there's always the chance of error. [QUOTE=JDK721;22688758]uh, no it's not. the death penalty costs more than a life sentence. and this guy was on death row for 25 YEARS. [editline]04:32PM[/editline] good to know that the US is still in the dark ages[/QUOTE] He requested this, I believe. It's not actually still legal in Utah anymore, this man got grandfathered in.

[QUOTE=3picFail;22688803]what is death by firing squad?[/QUOTE] Guys get guns with blanks in them. One has a real bullet.

[QUOTE=3picFail;22688803]what is death by firing squad?[/QUOTE] an awesome method of execution

[QUOTE=JDK721;22688758]uh, no it's not. the death penalty costs more than a life sentence. and this guy was on death row for 25 YEARS. [editline]04:32PM[/editline] good to know that the US is still in the dark ages[/QUOTE] The law was grandfathered, I have nothing against those cases.

[QUOTE=OvB;22688818]He chose to die by the gun. No one made him.[/QUOTE] it doesn't matter allowing the government to execute its own citizens with a firing squad is barbaric also, he chose the firing squad to demonstrate just how messed up Utah is. he did it to prove a point.

[QUOTE=OvB;22688841]Guys get guns with blanks in them. One has a real bullet.[/QUOTE] wut. I thought they all used live ammo

[QUOTE=wewt!;22688870]wut. I thought they all used live ammo[/QUOTE] four have live rounds one has a blank

[QUOTE=OvB;22688841]Guys get guns with blanks in them. One has a real bullet.[/QUOTE] I think it's reversed. Only one gets a blank, and the rest get a bullet. EDIT: God damn it JDK, stop being a ninja

[QUOTE=3picFail;22688803]what is death by firing squad?[/QUOTE] no one knows. except [url=www.google.com]:google:[/url]

[QUOTE=JDK721;22688864]it doesn't matter allowing the government to execute its own citizens with a firing squad is barbaric also, he chose the firing squad to demonstrate just how messed up Utah is. he did it to prove a point.[/QUOTE] Why exactly is it barbaric?

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;22688929]Why exactly is it barbaric?[/QUOTE] a firing squad.. to murder a murderer. it's 2010 this shit shouldn't be allowed anymore. every other advanced nation in the world has abolished the death penalty.

[QUOTE=JDK721;22688864]it doesn't matter allowing the government to execute its own citizens with a firing squad is barbaric also, he chose the firing squad to demonstrate just how messed up Utah is. he did it to prove a point.[/QUOTE] People should be able to be executed as they choose. Firing squad is no longer an option anyways.

[QUOTE=OvB;22688980]People should be able to be executed as they choose. Firing squad is no longer an option anyways.[/QUOTE] people shouldn't be executed to begin with

[QUOTE=JDK721;22688974]a firing squad.. to murder a murderer. it's 2010 this shit shouldn't be allowed anymore. every other advanced nation in the world has abolished the death penalty.[/QUOTE] Ah, I thought it was the method you had a problem with, not the actual action.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;22689066]Ah, I thought it was the method you had a problem with, not the actual action.[/QUOTE] any form of execution is barbaric this one reminds me of China

[QUOTE=3picFail;22688803]what is death by firing squad?[/QUOTE] Gangrape to the point your internal organs explode from the pressure caused by the jizz.

love the blood thirsty 14 year olds rating my post dumb anyone want to refute it

Actually, firing squads are typically painless if the bullet hits the brain, or even the brain stem, it'll kill immediately, and since bullets are faster than neural impulses, the criminal will feel no pain whatsoever. It's highly unlikely for them to feel it. But... If the executioners aim at the trunk of the torso instead of heart or head, it might be slow and painful. By the way, I'm not endorsing it at all. I'm just providing some facts.

they aim for the upper torso

If I were to be executed, that's the method I'd choose.

[QUOTE=bravehat;22689202]Gangrape to the point your internal organs explode from the pressure caused by the jizz.[/QUOTE] No, that's life in prison.

[QUOTE=JDK721;22688993]people shouldn't be executed to begin with[/QUOTE] Why not?