VIETNAM MULLS RESUMPTION OF FIRING SQUADS

Vietnam is mulling the resumption of execution by firing squad because of problems getting chemicals for lethal injections, state media reported.
The Laborer newspaper quoted Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang as asking the lawmaking National Assembly to allow the use of firing squads until the end of 2015, along with execution by lethal injection.
In 2011, the Communist country decided to switch from firing squads to lethal injection on humanitarian grounds, but only seven prisoners have been executed since August after a long delay as it struggled to obtain needed chemicals.
The report quoted several lawmakers as saying the move will help to avoid pressure on prisons holding death row inmates.
There are currently 678 people on the death row in Vietnam, it said.