South Carolina reinstating the firing squad as a means of execution is obviously a conversational move; but, for most people who are talking about this, it's controversial for the wrong reason.
The choice is given to the condemned. If the person who is meant to be executed chooses lethal injection, he or she has that right.
For me, since I'm entirely opposed to the death penalty, this is a mostly lateral move.
People oppose this because they regard the firing squad as particularly barbaric, antiquated, and gruesome.
The thing is that, when you look at the alternatives, the only opposition to the firing squad while we still have the death penalty with any validity is that it's more gruesome.
Lethal injection isn't used for the comfort of the condemned but for the comfort of the executioner and the witnesses. There have been dozens of executions by lethal injection in which the doses were wrong and that the people being killed were fully aware of all the pain and everything that was happening to them; but, they couldn't show the agony of death. To everybody but the prisoner, that event of death was like seeing somebody drift peacefully off to sleep.
Historically, firing squads have been quick and effective. It has happened that the first volley failed to kill the condemned person; but, that was a much bigger deal with muskets than what we have today. What it does is force everybody who is involved with the execution to understand exactly what is happening without sugar coating it. We should make it easier for the condemned than for the executioner or for those who condemned him.
This shouldn't be that controversial.