Faced with an EU ban on sodium thiopenthal and other drugs used in lethal injection it now seems that death penalty states( such as Pennsylvania whose Governor Tom Corbett has announced several impending executions of felons convicted of capital crimes in the New Year) are now mulling over the possible return of the firing squad( made famous by Utah's execution of Gary Gilmore on January 17, 1977 and Norman Mailer's book- later made into a TV miniseries of the same name- "The Executioner's Song)

Given that the average police or corrections officer is a notoriously poor shot, perhaps death penalty jurisdictions such as Utah, Pennsylvania and others should import a swordsman from Saudi Arabia to lop the heads off their felons

(I mean there are cases on record such as Elisio Mares in Utah, in September 1951, where firing squads have missed-deliberately or accidently- a white patch tied over the condemned individual's heart clearly saying "SHOOT ME HERE!") or maybe beheading is uncomfortable to American sensibilities.

Terry