Original Story

Ceremonial end to the firing squad
The Nation : Section: national Date:Oct 20,2003
                            
Ceremonial end to the firing squad
Published on Oct 20, 2003 

Nonthaburi - A Buddhist ceremony was held yesterday to mark the end of one method of
execution at Bang Kwang maximum security prison and the beginning of a new one – 
lethal injection.

Colourful balloons decorated the prison’s execution area, one for each of the 319 convicts
executed by gunshot since 1935, as the law replacing bullets with injections came into effect.
 
Four monks blessed their spirits, including those of three women and one political prisoner.

The balloons were then released into the sky.

Outgoing executioner Choawaret Jaruboon said he was happy to hand over the job to a new
team.
 
“I no longer have to face the stress of shooting anyone,” he said, adding that after 30
years as an executioner there were many angry spirits pursuing him, and he would have 
to make merit quickly.
 
After the balloons were released, Choawaret handed in the German-made submachine guns he
had used for the executions.
 
The Corrections Department is building a new facility to execute convicts by lethal injection,
said the prison’s commander, Phitaya Sangkhanakin, who presided over the ceremony.
 
It would be built near the field where the 319 people  were shot dead, he said, 
adding that it would be ready for use in three months.
 
“For now, we will use the existing execution area for administering lethal injections,”
Phitaya said.
 
Once the new building is ready, the old area will be turned into a museum where the machine
guns and other related equipment will be displayed,” he added.
 
The museum would help educate younger generations about methods of execution in Thailand,
he said.
 
Thirty-one prisoners are now on death row waiting to be executed by lethal injection, 
Phitaya said.
 
“We are not yet sure who  will be the first one for this,” he said

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