US Seeks 'Better' Ways to Kill Instead of Removing Death Penalty - Amnesty

Bills and laws on alternative methods of execution by those US states that continue to practice capital punishment only seek more efficient ways to kill, and do not address the moral issue of decreeing life and death, an Amnesty International (AI) death penalty expert told Sputnik on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Alexander Mosesov — Earlier on Wednesday, Amnesty International published its annual report on the death penalty, stating that the United States ranked fifth in the number of executions globally in 2014.

AI underscored its position of opposing capital punishment, stressing that discussion of "humane" execution methods misses the deeper, humanitarian issue.

"The response from executing states… shows an intent from the authorities to focus resources on finding a "better" way to kill, rather than reflecting on the human rights issues that are intrinsic to the use of the death penalty," Chiara Sangiorgio told Sputnik.

The annual report by AI came a week after the governor of Utah signed a bill legalizing firing squads as a backup execution method if drugs for lethal injection are unavailable.

In February, Wyoming lawmakers passed a bill, as yet unsigned by the state's governor, legalizing a firing squad as an alternative to lethal injection. Tennessee and Virginia have approved the use of electric chairs in case they run out of lethal drugs.