: a detachment detailed to fire volleys over the grave of one buried with military honors
2
: a detachment detailed to carry out a sentence of death by shooting
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebLumumba was killed by a firing squad on Jan. 16, 1961 in the southeastern province of Katanga after being ousted as prime minister the previous year, all within months of Congo’s independence from Belgium. Reuters, NBC News, 1 July 2022 His spiral into despair and drunkenness leads to a fight; knocked unconscious, he absurdly is propped up on a stretcher before a firing squad. Rhett Bartlett, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 July 2022 Hauled before a firing squad on the Semenovsky Parade Ground, in front of a large crowd, Dostoyevsky and his fellow freethinkers are theatrically reprieved (drumrolls, horsemen) by a last-minute gesture from Czar Nicholas I himself. James Parker, The Atlantic, 19 Oct. 2021 The rifles used by the three-member firing squad will not be visible to witnesses, the department said. Shawna Mizelle, CNN, 18 Mar. 2022 But Coddington’s attorneys were able to prove to the judge that Coddington had selected firing squad as an alternative method. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 29 Dec. 2021 He was swiftly tried, found guilty, and executed by firing squad. Timothy Mclaughlin, The Atlantic, 25 May 2022 Moore’s would mark the first since Ronnie Lee Gardner’s 2010 execution by a five-person firing squad in Utah.NBC News, 15 Apr. 2022 His brother was the last person in Utah — and the U.S. — to be executed by firing squad in 2010. Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Feb. 2022 See More