The Case for the Firing Squad
As Utah brings back execution by bullet, and other states weigh a change, some argue that the firing squad is the most humane method
The firing squad execution chamber at the state prison in Draper, Utah, in 2010.
Photographer: Trent Nelson/AP PhotoThis article is for subscribers only.
Ronnie Gardner had to be punished.
He escaped twice while serving a 1980 sentence for robbery in Utah State Prison. During his second escape, he killed a man before police could again put him in handcuffs. During a third escape attempt in 1985, he killed a second man, wounded several, and was arrested for the last time by six officers with guns drawn outside the Metropolitan Hall of Justice in Salt Lake City.