Is execution by firing squad used as a method of capital punishment in any country today?

star_gazer

In the US, Oklahoma and Idaho have firing squad has an option. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004916.html China http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5290923/China-firing-squad-photos-prompt-calls-for-more-executions.html 30 executions by shooting were recorded in 2007, with 15 in Afghanistan, 1 each in Belarus, Ethiopia, Indonesia and North Korea, 3 in Somalia and 8 in Yemen. It is assumed that the execution in Belarus was by a single shot to the back of the head. It is not known how many shooting executions were carried out in China but shooting is still in use in some provinces there. http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/shooting.html Aug 23 09, 8:41 PM

zbeckabee

Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in times of war. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firing_squad Execution by shooting is a form of capital punishment whereby an executed person is shot by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form. In most countries, execution by a firing squad has historically been considered a more honorable death and was used primarily for military personnel, though in some countries, single-executioner shooting is still in use. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_by_shooting Of the countries that still permit the death penalty, only five use lethal injection, the most common method of execution in the United States. Seventy-three of those countries use firing squads, 58 hang condemned criminals, six stone them, and three still use beheading (Congo, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). http://www.infoplease.com/spot/deathworld1.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777460.html Sixty nine countries had shooting as a lawful method of execution up to 2000, either exclusively or for some classes of crime or criminal (e.g. military personnel are shot whist civilians are hanged as in Egypt). Executions by this method are steadily declining and countries such as China, Guatemala and Thailand have moved to lethal injection. http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/shooting.html Aug 23 09, 8:50 PM

cag1970

As of July 1, 2009, Oklahoma is the only state in the Union that authorizes the use of a firing squad as a means of execution. Both Idaho and Utah previously authorized this method of execution, and in Utah's case, only those condemned who selected that method prior to May 3, 2004, may face a firing squad. In Oklahoma, the firing squad may be used if both lethal injection and electrocution are deemed to be unconstitutional. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/methods-execution Aug 24 09, 7:33 PM