In Salt Lake City, the Utah Legislature gave final...

In Salt Lake City, the Utah Legislature gave final approval to a bill eliminating firing squad executions for condemned prisoners. The Utah House gave final legislative approval to the measure that will abolish the firing squad as an option for condemned killers and make lethal injection the state's only method of capital punishment. Gov. Olene Walker said Thursday that it was "a sad commentary" that Utah still had the firing squad. "I think we need to make the death penalty as humane as possible. I will certainly sign it," Walker said at her weekly news conference. Final approval in the House came without debate, but the Senate on Thursday took up the merits of the firing squad in a 16-9 vote to do away with it. Idaho and Oklahoma retain the firing squad on their books as an option, but haven't used it in modern history. In a companion bill, the Legislature approved a bill Thursday that bans executions on Sundays, Mondays or holidays as a cost-saving measure. Executioners normally don't work weekends or holidays, and it costs $45,000 in overtime to carry out an execution on those days.