The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to expand the use of the federal death penalty, including through the deployment of firing squads.
The announcement on Friday was part of a policy document issued by the Department of Justice, setting out the legal argument for various methods of execution.
It touted steps for “restoring and strengthening” the death penalty as integral to the pursuit of justice.
“The Department of Justice acted to restore its solemn duty to seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences — clearing the way for the Department to carry out executions once death-sentenced inmates have exhausted their appeals,” the Justice Department said in a news release.
Smart choice. Lethal injection has a terrible history in reliably killing someone without issues. A firing squad is significantly more humane, and people on death row will generally opt for it if given the choice.
However, it’s far less common today because society doesn’t like firing squads; everything about them feels too barbaric.
Hmmm I wonder why that is… Surely it couldn’t be because capital punishment itself has no place in civilized society, right?