No, the Firing Squad Is Not Better than Lethal Injection: A Response to Stephanie Moran’s A Modest Proposal

In the article A Modest Proposal: The Federal Government Should Use Firing Squads to Execute Federal Death Row Inmates, Stephanie Moran argues that the firing squad is the only execution method that meets the requirements of the Eighth Amendment. In order to make her case, Moran unjustifiably overstates the negative aspects of lethal injection while understating the negative aspects of firing squads. The entire piece is predicated upon assumptions that are not only unsupported by the evidence but often directly refuted by the evidence. This Essay critically analyzes Moran’s claims regarding the alleged advantages of the firing squad over lethal injection. Topics covered include: the alleged burning sensation from lethal injection, length of lethal injection pain, constitutionality of administering an intravenous injection (IV), inmate preferences in method of execution, constitutionality of firing squads, overlooked firing squad safety measures, and deceptive botch rate statistics. Additionally, potential motivations for why one would want to promote the firing squad over lethal injection are examined.