Medical professionals reviewing autopsy reports raised concerns about modern firing squads. Dr. Jonathan Groner, emeritus professor of surgery, examined evidence from the 2010 case and noticed targeting discrepancies.
“I was concerned that the shooters’ aim was not perfect,” he said.
He suggested potential systemic issues, stating, “it seems possible that there is some sort of implicit bias in the execution process.”
Advocacy groups responded with public awareness efforts.
An activist organization launched a campaign addressing the precision of state marksmen with a billboard reading: “If you’re going to do it, shoot straight!”
Family members of the executed expressed disbelief.
Randy Gardner, brother of Ronnie Lee Gardner, questioned the accuracy of trained personnel from a short distance: “It’s just disgusting.
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How from 20ft away could anybody miss a target pinned on my brother’s heart?
These are skilled marksmen certified for this stuff, I don’t get how they could have missed.”
Further controversy arose during a 2025 execution in South Carolina involving inmate Mikal Mahdi.
Pathologist Dr. Jonathan Arden evaluated the entry wounds and disputed the state's official explanation, calling the deviation “extraordinarily uncommon.”
He concluded, “The shooters missed the intended target area,” resulting in “excruciating conscious pain and suffering.”
Defense attorneys argued that the outcomes contradicted official assertions.
Federal Public Defender Gerald King noted that the medical evidence was clear: “This did not go as the state said it would.”
Legal filings submitted to the US Supreme Court by another inmate's team alleged deliberate misconduct.
