File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-212-0221-07,_Russland-Nord,_Erschießung_von_Partisanen.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
execution by firing squad
Sign in to saveAlso known as fusillading
method of execution by multiple shooters firing rifles simultaneously on command
Key facts
- Method of
- Capital punishment
via Wikipedia infobox
~33 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Execution of two convicted criminals in a Uruguayan prison, 1892. The prison wall reads a quote from Plato: "The most wretched amongst all men is he who cannot endure misfortune". Execution by firing squad, historically called fusillading (from the French fusil, rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ, such as the brain or heart, most often will kill relatively quickly.
Procedure
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “execution by firing squad” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.