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Thread: Wyoming Capital Punishment News

  1. #11
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    I think he is serious. WW II: in Pvt. Slovik's execution, the M-1 rifles of the firing squad were being reloaded when he finally was pronounced dead. WW I: most British executions required the commander of the squad to apply the Coup de Grace.

  2. #12
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    It's one thing if the firing squad doesn't quite kill the condemned outright after the first volley. It's another thing to speculate that everyone on a Wyoming firing squad would actually completely miss hitting the prisoner altogether.

  3. #13
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    September 16, 2014

    Firing Squad Support Growing: Wyoming Takes Aim

    By Tim Cavanaugh
    National Review

    “Through the efforts of anti-death penalty activists, it’s becoming harder to get the drugs necessary for lethal injection,” Wyoming State Senator Bruce Burns (R-Sheridan) tells National Review Online of a Friday decision to propose firing-squad executions in the Equality State. “The secondary form of execution is the gas chamber. The problem Wyoming has there is we don’t have one. So without the drugs we don’t have any form of execution.”

    Burns serves on the state’s interim Joint Judiciary Committee, which considered solutions to the problems lethal-injection state executions are facing all over the country. The committee last week rejected a proposal to ban the death penalty and submitted a proposal that would make Wyoming the third state (along with Utah and Oklahoma) to authorize its department of corrections to use firing squads for executions.

    “The committee looked at various means of execution,” Burns tells NRO. “Other than lethal injection and gas chamber, the other standard means are the electric chair, hanging and firing squad. Firing squad seemed like the most efficient. It’s also usually the most thorough. One of the legislators [Republican State Representative Stephen Watt] asked what if they all miss? But there is less likelihood of all the members of a firing squad missing than there is of the kind of problems we’ve seen with other means.”

    An April execution by lethal injection in Oklahoma was “botched” in the sense that condemned prisoner Clayton Lockett’s death throes were energetic and lengthy enough to make the grim reality of killing clear to onlookers. That incident provoked a wave of revulsion toward capital punishment, though the death penalty remains popular throughout the United States. In the aftermath of the Lockett execution, some observers, instead of ruling out the death penalty, have begun to question whether state governments’ preference for more humanitarian-seeming methods is in fact any less harsh than more traditional forms of state-sponsored killing.

    “I tried to put myself in that position,” Burns notes. “How would I want to be executed?” The firing squad has actually been a requested means of execution for such prominent prisoners as Major John André, the British officer who facilitated Benedict Arnold’s defection during the Revolutionary War, and who reportedly remarked after learning that he would instead be hanged, “I am reconciled to my death, but I detest the mode.”

    The full Wyoming state house will vote on the proposal in January.

    http://www.nationalreview.com/corner...-tim-cavanaugh

  4. #14
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    Wyoming lawmakers mull death penalty ruling

    A Wyoming lawmaker says he still intends to push a bill to allow the use of firing squads to execute condemned inmates even though there's no one on death row.

    Sheridan Republican Sen. Bruce Burns is the outgoing chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He's pushing a bill to allow execution by firing squad in response to recent national shortages of lethal injection drugs.

    The Legislature starts next month.

    U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson of Cheyenne last month overturned the death sentence for Dale Wayne Eaton, Wyoming's only death row inmate.

    The 69-year-old Eaton was convicted of the 1988 murder of 18-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmell of Billings, Montana. He remains in prison.

    The Wyoming Attorney General's Office hasn't decided whether to appeal Johnson's ruling.

    http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...ng-5930499.php
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  5. #15
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    Legislators Pass Firing Squad Bill In the Senate

    A bill passed the Senate and is moving on to the House which will put into state statue a secondary form of execution, the firing squad. Currently the state statute has the gas chamber as the 2nd option, but that poses a problem because Wyoming doesn't have a gas chamber.

    "I don't have any great interest in if it's a firing squad or hanging or electrocution, the other part of the bill is more important which opens up the secondary form of execution," said Senator Bruce Burns.

    Senator Burns says the majority of people in the state support the death penalty, but there is disapproval in the legislature, and House members are already speaking out against the bill.

    "To methodically execute someone goes against our human nature," said Senator Floyd Esquibel.

    "We have made mistakes in this nation. We have executed innocent people which to me is unforgivable and the state should not in any way in the business of executing innocent people," said Representative Cathy Connolly.

    Representative Connolly is sponsoring a bill in the House which abolishes the death penalty and imposes a maximum of life in prison for the most heinous crimes, which she says would immediately end the problems the department of corrections is seeing with trying to get lethal injection drugs. For some who voted in support of firing squads they see this as an international issue.

    "The European Union is holding those drugs back. In other words the European Union is trying to affect domestic policy in the United States," said Senator Burns.

    There hasn't been an execution in Wyoming since 1992. This past November a federal judge overturned the death sentence for the state's lone death row inmate, so even though an execution isn't likely in the near future senator burns says this execution bill will make sure steps are in place for when that time comes.

    "I tried to put myself in the position of somebody being executed and what method would I prefer and although none of them are particularly enjoyable the firing squad to me seemed the most merciful," said Senator Burns.

    (Source: KCWY News)
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  6. #16
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    Bill to Allow Firing Squads as a 2nd Option For Death Row Inmates Expected To Pass House

    A bill allowing firing squads to be used as a 2nd option after lethal injections for death row inmates is expected to pass the house tomorrow.

    "It seems like we are moving back in time instead of forward which is a concern," said Rep. Mary Throne.

    This bill has a lot of support even though a handful of legislators have opposed it from the start and say its embarrassing. Representatives in favor of the bill say the state needs another execution method.

    "The society has the responsibility to if they are going to have an execution they have the responsibility to make sure they have the most humane method possible," said Rep. Nathan Winters.

    Representative winters, A pastor, says he spoke for the death penalty in committee, but had questions on this bill. He says lethal injection is still the best way to execute inmates.

    "When someone commits a heinous act we don't have to respond in the same kind of cruelty that they perpetuated on a victim," said Winters.

    Lethal injection drugs have been limited by European drug companies because of opposition to the death penalty in the European union. Legislators think now is the time to act.

    "I think the manufacturers have the right to say no we don't have to do that, that's why we don't have doctors carrying out executions," said Rep. Charles Pelkey.

    "I don't like the fact that policy and law that we would pass in the state of Wyoming would be dictated by a foreign country," said Winters.

    "I don't think that the least populated state in the country would affect how the European Union does business," said Throne.

    An amendment passed in the house would now have inmates set for a firing squad execution to be put under anesthesia and unconscious when shot. The senate has to agree on the amendment before it goes to the governor's desk.

    (Source: KCWY News)
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  7. #17
    Senior Member Member OperaGhost84's Avatar
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    And we're right back where we started. Is the anesthesia strong enough? Was it administered by a trained physician? Who makes the anesthesia? How potent is it? Wyoming, no pun intended, but you're missing the point.
    Last edited by OperaGhost84; 02-12-2015 at 07:29 PM. Reason: Grammar
    I am vehemently against Murder. That's why I support the Death Penalty.

  8. #18
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    February 13, 2015

    Wyoming House passes firing squads execution bill

    By LAURA HANCOCK
    The Casper Star-Tribune

    CHEYENNE -- The Wyoming House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would make firing squads the alternative form of execution in Wyoming.

    Senate File 13 was amended in the House on Tuesday to require that death row inmates be administered anesthesia and rendered unconscious before being shot.

    Because of that amendment, the bill went to the Senate, where a majority needs to vote for it. Otherwise, the leadership of both chambers will appoint a committee to hammer out differences.

    After an afternoon vote in the Senate for which four people were absent, members decided that the amendment would be voted on next week.

    SF13 narrowly passed the House, 32-28, and critics wondered whether Wyoming should even have the death penalty.

    On Jan. 16, the bill passed the Senate, 17-12, with one senator excused.

    Wyoming’s primary method of execution is lethal injection, but drugs are increasingly in short supply nationwide.

    The Joint Judiciary Interim Committee sponsored the bill because the state’s current alternative form of execution is lethal gas, but the state doesn’t have a working gas chamber.

    Rep. Mark Baker, R-Rock Springs, told colleagues Thursday morning that research suggests that 5 percent of people who are executed are innocent. He asked them to think about that before voting.

    Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, served on the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee last spring, summer and fall, when the bill was being crafted. She said the committee didn’t vet enough methods of execution.

    “There is (a higher) margin of error in this method of execution than others,” said Rep. Ken Esquibel, D-Cheyenne.

    No one is currently on death row in Wyoming.

    In November, a federal judge overturned the death sentence for the last inmate on death row, Dale Wayne Eaton, who had been convicted in 2004 for the murder of Lisa Marie Kimmell, of Billings, Montana.

    Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen recently filed notice that he intends to proceed with a new death penalty hearing.

    Rep. Kendell Kroeker, R-Evansville, said that because Wyoming has no death row inmates, now is the best time to address the issue “so it’s not personal in any way,” he said.

    Rep. Scott Clem, R-Gillette, was concerned about the discussion about death row inmates, convicted criminals who have victimized others.

    “Let’s not put them in a victim role,” he said.

    After the Legislature makes a decision on the anesthesia amendment, the bill will go to Gov. Matt Mead for his approval.

    When asked for a comment from the governor’s office, Interim Communications Director Michele Panos instead outlined the process for any governor to sign or veto a bill.

    Last month, during a luncheon with the Wyoming Press Association, Mead said he had not committed to the bill one way or another. He said he was aware of the difficulty of states trying to get lethal injection drugs.

    “I’m a proponent of having a death penalty in the state of Wyoming,” he said.

    http://trib.com/news/state-and-regio...a66b0572d.html

  9. #19
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    March 25, 2015

    Wyoming shoots down firing squad bill, Utah signs on


    By Aja Goare
    MTN News

    CHEYENNE, WY - Wyoming legislators have decided that the state should keep the death penalty, but lawmakers aren't ready to pull the trigger on the firing squad bill.

    Senate Bill 13, a controversial bill to allow firing squads as a means of execution, died in the House after passing in the Senate.

    A law to employ firing squads was considered because the Cowboy State has none of the lethal injection drug on hand.

    The bill made it through several hearings, both at the House and Senate, but was ultimately voted down after a provision to require the inmate be sedated prior to execution.

    Proponents of the change argued that an inmate must be fully unconscious before being shot, meaning a doctor would have to be on hand to monitor the person.

    The sedation drug would be similar to the lethal injection drug itself, which is in short supply across the country.

    The amended bill came back for a vote and the bill was voted down by one vote.

    According to Sen. Bruce Burns, who introduced the bill, a House Representative approached him after the vote and said they had accidentally voted on the wrong bill so the committee agreed to take another vote.

    The bill lost by three votes the second time.

    Burns said that committee leaders considered taking a third and final vote, but ultimately decided to kill the measure because there is currently no one on Wyoming's death row.

    Former death row inmate Dale Eaton, who murdered Billings teenager Lisa Kimmel, had his death sentence overturned in 2014.

    There have been 23 executions in the state since 1976, according to government data.

    A gas chamber is cited as the state's backup method of execution, but the single gas chamber in the state has not worked in years.

    "One could argue that the legislature should pay to reinstate the gas chamber," said Burns. "That would cost the legislature a lot of money and could lead to lawsuits."

    Beyond concerns for humaneness, Burns cited potential environmental damage from a gas chamber.

    "It would have to vent somewhere," said Burns.

    Concerns over execution are not unique to Wyoming.

    There are 32 states in the U.S. that have the death penalty and all are facing a shortage of the lethal injection drug.

    In Utah, firing squads were signed into law on Monday by Gov. Gary Herbert.

    Utah is the only state in the country with firing squads as a means of execution.

    In addition to killing the firing squad bill, Wyoming lawmakers voted down a bill to abolish the death penalty earlier this session.

    Burns said the bill now belongs to the judicial committee, meaning it does not need a sponsor. Burns said it would likely be reconsidered after the budget session.

    Wyoming does not need a means of execution so long as nobody is on death row, but the state must have a method available if and when a person is sentenced to death.

    http://www.kbzk.com/story/28605879/w...-utah-signs-on

  10. #20
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Wyoming kills death penalty repeal

    The bill to repeal Wyoming’s Death Penalty is no longer being taken under consideration in the Legislature’s House.

    House Bill 240 (HB 240), sponsored by Representative Marti Halverson proposed a complete repeal of Wyoming’s death penalty law.

    “I’m pretty adamantly opposed to the death penalty, so I thought that this [House Bill 240] was great.” UW Professor of Philosophy Edward Sherline said.

    According to the Wyoming Constitution, a person convicted of murder in the first degree can be punished by death, life imprisonment without parole or life imprisonment, with the exception of persons under the age of 18, who will not be given the death penalty. The present form of execution in Wyoming is death by lethal injection.

    Representative Mark Baker, co-sponsor of HB 240, said that as of Feb. 15, the bill did not meet the cut-off date and is indefinitely postponed for the session.

    Sherline said the death penalty has not had a significant impact on Wyoming, however, he still opposes it. The last person to be executed in Wyoming was Mark Hopkinson in 1992 and the last person sentenced to death row was Dale Wayne Eaton in 2004.

    Since 2014 Judge Alan B. Johnson has overturned Eaton’s sentencing on the grounds that Eaton received poor representation, which was due to the Wyoming Public Defender’s office’s lack of funding. At this time no one is on death row in Wyoming or being tried for the death penalty, according to the Death Penatly Information Center’s website.

    “I wouldn’t have cared otherwise, how would it affect me?” Brian Halsey, a Political Science and History student at UW said. “It [the death penalty] doesn’t dictate my everyday life so why should I worry about it? In Wyoming it is okay because it won’t really be used in a state with a population of 500,000.”

    A bill was considered in the 2015 session to replace the state’s back up method of execution. The bill would have replaced the gas chamber with a firing squad as an alternative in the event that lethal injection is not available.

    A bill to eliminate the death penalty will not be considered this year, however, this may still be a step in that direction.

    “Maybe this is just the first step in the door.” Sherline said.

    http://www.uwbrandingiron.com/2017/0...enalty-repeal/

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