When was the last time a firing squad was used for the death penalty?

The last time a firing squad was used for the death penalty was in 2010. In the United States, the last person to be executed by firing squad was Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010, who stated that he chose that technique because there would be “no mistakes.”

Gardner’s execution at Utah State Prison drew international attention in June 2010 because it was the first firing squad execution in the United States in 14 years.

Gardner indicated that he desired this method of death due to his Mormon heritage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement clarifying its stand on the question of individual blood atonement the day before his execution.

Gardner was executed by firing squad on June 18, 2010, at 12:15 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time, at Utah State Prison in Draper. He was restrained and placed in a black metal chair with a hood over his head. To absorb ricochets, sandbags were stacked around him.

The firing squad consisted of five unidentified volunteers who were all trained police officers. The cops were roughly 25 feet (7.6 metres) away from Gardner, aiming at a white target over his heart. One of theirs.30-caliber Winchester rifles were chosen at random and loaded with a non-lethal wax bullet so they wouldn’t know who fired the fatal rounds.