Editing Execution by firing squad (section)

== Procedure ==
A firing squad is normally composed of at least several shooters, all of whom are usually instructed to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by one member and identification of who fired the lethal shot. To avoid disfigurement due to multiple shots to the head, the shooters are typically instructed to aim at the [[heart]], sometimes aided by a paper or cloth target. The prisoner is typically [[blindfold]]ed or [[Hood (headgear)|hooded]] as well as restrained. [[Execution (legal)|Executions]] can be carried out with the condemned either standing or sitting. There is a tradition in some jurisdictions that such executions are carried out at [[dawn|first light]] or at sunrise, giving rise to the phrase "shot at dawn".

Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins described the execution by firing squad of a murderer, [[Brad Sigmon]], in 2025 as follows:

:"Mr. Sigmon’s lawyer read his final statement. The hood was put over Mr. Sigmon’s head, and an employee opened the black pull shade that shielded where the three prison-system volunteer shooters were. About two minutes later, they fired. There was no warning or countdown. The abrupt crack of the rifles startled me. And the white target with the red bull’s-eye that had been on his chest, standing out against his black prison jumpsuit, disappeared instantly as Mr. Sigmon’s whole body flinched. A jagged red spot about the size of a small fist appeared where Mr. Sigmon was shot. His chest moved two or three times. Outside of the rifle crack, there was no sound. A doctor came out in less than a minute, and his examination took about a minute more. Mr. Sigmon was declared dead at 6:08 p.m."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Jeffrey |date=2025-03-09 |title=Firing Squad Execution Witness Recounts Experience: A Rifle Crack, Then Silence |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/09/us/firing-squad-execution-south-carolina.html |access-date=2025-03-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

[[The National News Desk]] reporter Brian McConchie, who attended the execution of [[Mikal Mahdi]] in 2025, spoke at the Mahdi execution press conference:

:"This seemed like a very fast process.  The curtain opened seconds before 6 p.m. and within four and a half to five minutes the process is over, and you are exiting the chamber in silence, you're not speaking to anyone."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jordon |first=Kei'Yona |date=2025-04-11 |title=Witnesses recount harrowing final moments of Mikal Mahdi's execution by firing squad in SC |url=https://abcnews4.com/newsletter-daily/witnesses-recount-harrowing-final-moments-of-mikal-mahdis-execution-by-firing-squad-in-sc |accessdate = 2025-04-14 |work=WCIV}}</ref>

Associated Press journalist Jeffrey Collins provided more detail:

:"Mahdi, 42, cried out as the bullets hit him, and his arms flexed. A white target with the red bull’s-eye over his heart was pushed into the wound in his chest.

Mahdi groaned two more times about 45 seconds after that. His breaths continued for about 80 seconds before he appeared to take one final gasp."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/firing-squad-execution-south-carolina-mikal-mahdi-25466963350812080385524ccc3a9298 | title=South Carolina executes second man by firing squad in 5 weeks | website=[[Associated Press News]] }}</ref>

[[File:Firing Squad in Iran.jpg|thumb|Firing squad of Iranian Government executing Kurd prisoners (27 August 1979)]]

Execution by firing squad is a specific practice that is distinct from other forms of [[Execution by shooting|execution by firearms]], such as an execution by shot(s) to the back of the head or neck. However, the single shot to the brain by the squad's officer with a pistol at point blank ([[coup de grâce]]) is sometimes incorporated in a firing squad execution, particularly if the initial volley turns out not to be immediately fatal. Before the introduction of firearms, [[Bow (weapon)|bow]]s or [[crossbow]]s were often used—[[Saint Sebastian]] is usually depicted as executed by a squad of [[auxilia|Roman auxiliary]] archers in around AD 288; King [[Edmund the Martyr]] of [[East Anglia]], by some accounts, was tied to a tree and executed by [[Viking]] archers on 20 November 869 or 870.

Sometimes, one or more of the members of the firing squad may be issued a rifle containing a [[Blank (cartridge)|blank cartridge]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Huie |first=William Bradford |title=The Execution of Private Slovik |title-link=The Execution of Private Slovik |publisher=Duell, Sloan & Pearce |year=1954 |isbn=978-1594160035 |page=208}}</ref> In such cases, the shooters are not told beforehand whether they are using live or blank ammunition. This is believed to reinforce the sense of [[diffusion of responsibility]] among the firing squad members.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 June 2010 |title=The Psychology of Firing Squads |url=https://nickkam.com/2010/06/18/the-psychology-of-firing-squads/}}</ref> It provides each member with a measure of [[plausible deniability]] that they, personally, did not fire a bullet at all.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 1947 |title=Procedure for Military Executions |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/procedure_dec-1947.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/procedure_dec-1947.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |access-date=2017-01-23 |publisher=Department of the Army}}</ref> In practice however, firing a live round produces significant recoil, while firing a blank round does not.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carver |first1=Field Marshal Lord Michael |title=Britain's Army in the Twentieth Century |date=1999 |isbn=978-0330372008}} Gas-operated actions such as recoil depend on a high pressure state that only exists when the gas is trapped between the breech and the moving projectile. As there is no bullet in the blank, the recoil is greatly reduced.</ref> In more modern times such as during the 2010 execution of [[Ronnie Lee Gardner]] in Utah, US, one rifleman may be given a "dummy" [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridge]] containing a [[wax bullet]], which provides a more realistic recoil.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Westcott |first1=Kathryn |date=June 18, 2010 |title=How and why Gardner was shot |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10254279.stm |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>