# Could YOU Serve on a Firing Squad? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 19, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786 "2010-06-19T17:53:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/1 "2010-06-19T17:53:50Z")
This thread got me to wondering: > **[Firing squads: Why the blank?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=567523)** > > This article reminded me of something I felt was weird for a long time. In the article, it states that: Why’s that such a big issue? It seems that since these men had been chosen or volunteered for the job, killing someone isn’t that big of an... Imagine for a moment that there was a job available on a firing squad. You would essentially be on call, maybe perform your duties once a month. On the weeks you don’t work, you are paid a flat $2000 per week, after taxes. When you do have to serve, your salary jumps to $100,000 that week. You only other job responsibility would be keeping your sharp-shooting skills at the top of your game, maybe a few hours of target practice a couple times a week. The people you are being paid to execute are accused of being guilty of heinous crimes, the worst you can think of. But there is always that slim chance that they are innocent. Could you, would you do it? Could you look at a human being thru your scope and pull the trigger? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/2 "2010-06-19T17:57:26Z")
Not me. I think I’d only be able to kill someone if they were attacking me, or another person. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/3 "2010-06-19T17:58:55Z")
For that kind of money I wouldn’t even think twice about it. For less money I would at least want to look over the case to convince myself that their guilty but for for over a million a year I’d take the justice system’s word in it and enjoy every penny of my blood money. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/4 "2010-06-19T18:01:45Z")
No. I agree with **NinetyWt**. I’m ambivalent about capital punishment. I’m generally opposed to it, but there are people who ‘need killing’ and I won’t shed a tear for them when they are. But since I am unwilling to pull the trigger or push the button or pull the lever, I’d rather have even the most heinous criminals die in their cells instead of being put to death. I’d like the money, but I would not like the guilt of taking a human life. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/5 "2010-06-19T18:05:08Z")
I’d take that deal in a heart beat. Executions typically happen around midnight (why the hell is that?), so I wouldn’t even have to quit my day job. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Understander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3da27b/32.png) [@The\_Understander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Understander)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/6 "2010-06-19T18:10:44Z")
Well, if you put a gun to my head… 😃 My answer’s a lot like **Oredigger’s** , only even for that kind of money I’d look over every single case like it was my sole purpose in life. I’d probably quit after about a year. I’ll admit I can’t turn down that kind of money and what it could do for me and my loved ones, but after a certain point, the guilt would get me for sure. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/7 "2010-06-19T18:14:24Z")
The first time I got called to serve on a jury, I wrestled with the question “What if it’s a murder trial?” I decided that while I am completely unopposed to the death penalty, I could not myself vote to send someone to death row. When I became the owner of firearms after my father died, I wrestled with the question, “Could I shoot to kill if placed in a situation where it might be called for?” I decided that I probably could not. By logical extension of both of those decisions, no, I do not believe I could serve on a firing squad. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/8 "2010-06-19T18:51:27Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Imagine for a moment that there was a job available on a firing squad. You would essentially be on call, maybe perform your duties once a month. On the weeks you don’t work, you are paid a flat $2000 per week, after taxes. When you do have to serve, your salary jumps to $100,000 that week. You only other job responsibility would be keeping your sharp-shooting skills at the top of your game, maybe a few hours of target practice a couple times a week. > > The people you are being paid to execute are accused of being guilty of heinous crimes, the worst you can think of. But there is always that slim chance that they are innocent. > > Could you, would you do it? Could you look at a human being thru your scope and pull the trigger? If all they are is accused, no. If they have been found guilty and gone through the entire appeals process, I’d pull the trigger without a moment’s hesitation. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/9 "2010-06-19T19:02:04Z")
Hey, are you kidding me? I picked off all those people from that clock tower, and I didn’t get paid anything at all. This deal is sweet. Um, seriously, I’m not sure. Not sure that’s how I want to be identified in life, “Professional Executioner.” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/10 "2010-06-19T19:05:33Z")
I could, though I would prefer to be properly trained for lethal injection as that seems to be the more common form of execution. I might pass my ‘down time’ trying to develop some form of truely hands off computer operated execution device that would be acceptable - perhaps a chamber that would alternate gas combinations to euthanize someone instead of injections. Make it so the persons entire cell on death row was the chamber so on the appointed date they simply die. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/11 "2010-06-19T19:09:23Z")
If the community I lived in had decided that was the apropriate way to rid society of lawbreakers I could take my turn at civic duty, I think. But I don’t think I would be able to execute people to earn money. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/12 "2010-06-19T19:09:41Z")
I realized I didn’t answer my own question… with good reason. Quite simply, I don’t know. There are days I feel like I could easily gun down someone that cut me off in traffic (I KID!!!) but if faced with the reality of it… I just don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/13 "2010-06-19T20:07:24Z")
Hmmmm, yes. It wouldn’t be easy at first though. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/14 "2010-06-19T20:37:03Z")
I hunt, shoot, and own quite a few weapons. I guess you could say I am a member of the “gun culture.” But I would never want to be a member of a firing squad. From what I’ve read, killing another human being – even if it is 100% justified – is very likely to have a life-long “effect” on you. Regardless of how macho or manly you think you are. It’s not something I want to go through. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/15 "2010-06-19T20:41:33Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > When I became the owner of firearms after my father died, I wrestled with the question, “Could I shoot to kill if placed in a situation where it might be called for?” I decided that I probably could not. There is no doubt in my mind I could shoot someone who needed to be shot. But at the same time, I hope I never have to do it. As I stated above, killing another human being – even if it is 100% justified – is very likely to have a life-long effect on a person. It’s not something I want to go through. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/16 "2010-06-19T21:07:56Z")
I don’t trust the system enough to support capital punishment at all, much less pull the trigger. I don’t think it would particularly bother me to kill someone I knew was guilty of a sufficiently awful deed; but I wouldn’t be sufficiently confident of that unless I happened to be right there when he/she did it and shot them on the spot. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/17 "2010-06-19T21:10:22Z")
I wouldn’t mind. Job gets done all the same, regardless of who does it. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/18 "2010-06-19T21:37:36Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Could you, would you do it? Could you look at a human being thru your scope and pull the trigger? Where do I sign? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/19 "2010-06-19T22:11:23Z")
I could do it. And for that kind of money, I probably would. Assuming business is good, in 2-3 years I will have saved what I like to call “Kiss My Ass Money”–ie, enough to cover me for the rest of my life even if I don’t want to hit a lick at a snake, so I can tell the world to kiss my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786/20 "2010-06-19T23:28:10Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > As I stated above, killing another human being – even if it is 100% justified – is very likely to have a life-long effect on a person. It’s not something I want to go through. That’s why there are lots of nice features to the firing squad job that make killing someone more psychologically palpable: 1. The dude was sentenced to death, so he’s going to be killed some how some way, whether I’m involved or not. 2. Lots of people are shooting him simultaneously, so he would have died even if my gun misfired or I didn’t pull the trigger. 3. At least one gun fires a blank, so I may not have shot him at all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-serve-on-a-firing-squad/543786.md?page=2)