# Firing squad question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930 "2015-03-13T19:11:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/21 "2015-03-13T22:30:48Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > I have a wacky idea that a member of the jury should be the executioner. If they decide that they can’t do it at the last minute, then the sentence is commuted to life in prison without parole. Personally, I’ve always thought that the pool of executioners should be drawn exclusively from the elected representatives who voted in favour of the bill establishing the death penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/22 "2015-03-13T22:41:20Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I think that having a blank in one of the rifles is for the peace of mind of the shooters; it preserves for each the possibility that they didn’t kill someone. But surely “There’s only a 1-in-6 chance that I _didn’t_ shoot him” isn’t very comforting odds? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/23 "2015-03-13T22:43:16Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Personally, I’ve always thought that the pool of executioners should be drawn exclusively from the elected representatives who voted in favour of the bill establishing the death penalty. Should the prison guards assigned to watch over incarcerated-for-life inmates be drawn from the elected representatives who favor life imprisonment instead of capital punishment? ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/24 "2015-03-13T22:45:07Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Personally, I’ve always thought that the pool of executioners should be drawn exclusively from the elected representatives who voted in favour of the bill establishing the death penalty. I’m pretty sure that all the people who came up with “punishable by death” in the laws have been dead for a while. Even those who voted to re-instate capital punishment are probable either dead or too close to it to reliably operate a rifle. Back to OP: Here is one person who would have no trouble being the shooter. In some cases, my shot just might be a little low and hit the gut instead of the heart. Anyone who says they support the death penalty should have the strength of conviction to be the executioner. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/25 "2015-03-13T23:13:40Z")
Not a job I want, but one I could perform if for some reason I needed to do it. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/26 "2015-03-13T23:53:25Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Utah is bring back execution by firing squad. > > I’ve heard **the biggest problem is how it hits the shooters**. So I ask, do you think you could be on a firing squad? > > Parameters: > > 1. Must prove you can hit a target at 100 feet. > 2. 6 shooters, 1 has a blank round. > 3. You are required to do it even if you disagree on the persons guilt or not. Therefore all bullets have identification so if after shooting they see one shooter deliberately missed or missed by error, you get some penalty (ex. loss of pay or never again on this duty). > > Remember you have to deal with yourself. Seeing that persons body jump and twitch from your bullet will live with you the rest of your life. Also you might not find out later that the person was found to be innocent. > > So could you do it? They’re doing it wrong!!! Step 1. Aim rifle downrange ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/27 "2015-03-13T23:57:49Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > They’re doing it wrong!!! > > Step 1. Aim rifle downrange Step 2. Make sure not to stand in a circle. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/28 "2015-03-14T00:30:02Z")
Okay, a question for experienced shooters (I haven’t fire a rifle in many years, but I used to): I can’t believe that a blank round in a high-powered rifle is going to have anywhere near the kick, or general feel of a actual bullet being fired. Is it really possible for a highly trained/experienced rifleman to not know/feel what he’s firing? Or is it just one of those plausible deniability things? ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/29 "2015-03-14T00:49:19Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > Is it really possible for a highly trained/experienced rifleman to not know/feel what he’s firing? > > No. > > Or is it just one of those plausible deniability things? > > Yes. … ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/30 "2015-03-14T01:04:57Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > But surely “There’s only a 1-in-6 chance that I _didn’t_ shoot him” isn’t very comforting odds? Still better odds than Atlantic City. You couldn’t kick me in the nuts long enough for me to accept the job though. ---
**Author:** ![scoots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@scoots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scoots)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/31 "2015-03-14T01:11:26Z")
Probably a stupid question but - I understand this is all a result of a shortage of the necessary drugs which is caused by the EU ban on exporting them to countries that have the death penalty. Why can’t these drugs be manufactured within the US? Presumably the technical knowhow and suitable laboratories are all present. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/32 "2015-03-14T01:37:14Z")
I know I’m going to be the minority but – yeah, I could do it. Don’t know that I would volunteer but since I’m in favor of the death penalty, figure out how I’m going to get picked and make sure its fair, and I’ll aim for the mark. No issue there for me. Ask me on a bad day, say after some particularly senseless crime happens, and maybe I’d even volunteer. But I would hope not. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/33 "2015-03-14T02:10:35Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > It’s all mixed in with that weird Mormon blood atonement thing. Does that mean that when the Scientologists get their own state they get to audit people to death? The worst of all are those homeopathic lethal injections. Some of those have been going on for years. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/34 "2015-03-14T02:15:06Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Well, who agrees to inject, during lethal injection? > > Who agrees to flip the switch, during electrocution? FWIW, Robert Elliott, executioner at Sing Sing who put to death Sacco and Vanzetti and about 380 others, was strongly opposed to the death penalty and stated he hoped it would be abolished. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/35 "2015-03-14T02:55:33Z")
I couldn’t do it myself, for personal moral reasons. But…I don’t consider the people who do it to be immoral. We’re allowed to have different beliefs, and, as capital punishment has the official sanction of law, I’m stuck having to accept it even if I disagree with it. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/36 "2015-03-14T03:32:33Z")
I don’t know so much philosophically. I’m generally anti-death penalty due to the number of mistaken convictions. Still, I’d be willing to look that Boston Marathon bomber in the eye and shoot him in the face. Reasons: There’s no question of his guilt. He killed a child, among others. He was trying to inspire others to do the same. Fuck him, BOOM, headshot. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/37 "2015-03-14T03:36:23Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, they have Tom Cruise jump up and down on them. > > Regards, > Shodan Bare feet or lifts? What do you suppose something like that pays (firing squad)? ---
**Author:** ![SJL4041](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@SJL4041](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SJL4041)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/38 "2015-03-14T04:48:06Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > What do you suppose something like that pays (firing squad)? Apparently, nothing: > [@Yahoo News](#): > > If those executions go forward, prison authorities will choose the gunmen from a pool of volunteer officers, starting with those in the area where the crime happened, Ray said. “We’ve always had a lot more volunteers than actually had spots,” he said. [http://news.yahoo.com/frustration-pushes-utah-toward-renewed-firing-squads-090004298.html](http://news.yahoo.com/frustration-pushes-utah-toward-renewed-firing-squads-090004298.html) I mean, I’m glad they’re not forcing Corrections Officers to do it, but soliciting volunteers like this just feels oogie. Not to mention that shooting a man through the heart is a hard ticket to get. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/39 "2015-03-14T05:14:19Z")
This is from a different culture, but I think a lot of people will find this interesting. It’s an interview with an executioner in Saudi Arabia. > **[Portrait: Muhammad Saad al-Beshi, Saudi Arabia's state executioner.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jun/06/saudiarabia.features11)** > > Decent pay, flexible hours, good benefits package - but being Saudi Arabia's state executioner does have its down side, as Muhammad Saad al-Beshi tells Mahmoud Ahmed. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930/40 "2015-03-14T13:08:00Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > #2 and 3 pretty much cancel each other out. The entire reason why one shooter in a firing squad has a blank (and they don’t know who) is so that each shooter does not know if he was the one who killed the prisoner or not. The reason I added that is lets say that after it happens, they notice one or two bullets missed the target completely. They would want to know who missed and why. Are they just a bad shot? Did they deliberately miss? Thing is they would want every bullet to hit within the target zone to maximize the hit and a quick kill. Soemone not doing their job jeopardizes that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firing-squad-question/714930.md?page=3)