Question

In 1878 the supreme court upheld what type of capital punishment method in utah?

Answer 1

Firing squad was the type of capital punishment in Utah upheld by the Supreme Court.  

In case Wallace Wilkerson, v. People of the United States in the Territory of Utah, an American stockman called Wallace Wilkerson, was charged with premeditated murder for killing William Baxter, to which Wilkerson claimed innocence. On December 14, 1877, Wilkerson was sentenced to die. He was given a choice of methods between hanging, decapitation, and firing squad; Wilkerson elected to be executed by firing squad. However, a year later, he appealed to the Supreme Court of Utah territory on the grounds that "execution by firing squad presented unnecessary cruelty and unusual punishment". His lawyers argued that because of the nature of firing squads, "his 8th amendment right to protection from cruel and unusual punishment had been violated". The appeal was revoked by the Supreme Court, upholding the initial decision of the First Court of the Territory of Utah.