As long as the state of Utah is seeking more efficiency in fulfilling its capital punishment sentences, perhaps it needs to consider
slightly higher firepower so that it doesn't appear quite so "backward and backwoods" in its goal to appear more "humane". In the pantheon of costs, disloyalty as a social cost does seem to be important to some cultures.
Last month, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill bringing back the firing squad as a method of execution. The state abandoned firing squads in 2004 but now, it has returned as the backup option — partly because of a shortage of lethal injection drugs, the state's default execution method.
Utah Brings Back Firing Squads As Lethal Injection Drugs Remain Scarce
Utah is now the only state in the U.S. that authorizes execution by firing squad.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah says the bill makes the state look "backward and backwoods," while proponents argue the firing squad is more humane, considering the recent botched lethal injection executions in Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona.
North Korea's Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol has been executed for showing disloyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea's spy agency has told parliament.
Such a public and brutal method of execution as obliteration by anti-aircraft gun would emphasise the cost of disloyalty.
There have been reports before of North Korea using heavy weaponry in executions, including mortars.
Last month, a rights group released satellite images it said showed unusual activity on a small arms range at the Kanggon army training area in October 2014.