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In Utah a bill has just been passed allowing fire squad to be a method of execution if there is a shortage of the lethal drugs that are used in most states that have the death penalty. The reasoning behind this bill, is that the lethal drugs sometimes do not work or work slower, causing the criminal more suffering. The supporters of the bill believe the lethal injection can cause long drawn-out deaths whereas the use of the fire squad would be more humane and quicker. This may not necessarily be true because the person could move or the shooter could miss the heart, which would result in a drawn out death by fire squad. Either way there are possibilities of long drawn out deaths.

I feel that the death penalty should only be used in extreme situations, and that in America it is used too much and should be a last resort only. Fire squad should not be an option in any case, in my opinion. In the article it stated opponents think that the fire squad should not be used because it was used in the Wild West days, and we should be moving forward and not use old ways, which I agree with.

This is related to the course because it involves federalism and the idea that capital punishment is decided by the state and not the same all across the country.