The job as a member of a firing squad has definitely not been a state secret, but it has been kept as confidential as possible in order to better keep social order and security. Tuoi Tre now reveals stories of the squad as told by insiders.
Part 1: The end of firing squads in Vietnam
Part 2: Firing range caretaker in Hanoi
Part 3: The last moments of death-row criminals
The majority of criminals sentenced to death by firing squad have committed drug-related crimes such as trafficking, transporting, and sales. Vietnam has been one of the nations with with most severe penalties for drug traffickers in the world. Such criminals are labeled ‘the seeders of white death to society’.
However, firing squads and shooting ranges will become just another part of history after January 1, 2012, when the death penalty by lethal injection will be implemented.
At a firing range
Accompanied by a Son La Prison policeman to a slope of Chieng Mung Mountain in the northern Son La Province, which borders China, we are introduced to the hillside that has also served as a place of execution by firing squads.
The mountainous landscape seems to rest in permanent peace, exciting not a feeling of death. The site is located just 500 meters from National Highway 6.
After they were informed of the closure of the firing range several months ago, the local Thai ethnic minority people began cultivating the hillside.
Now, an office for range officers remains there, empty. A cement yard in front of the office, formerly used to announce the crimes of criminals before execution, is almost untouched. Four bamboo posts used as shooting stands for criminals to be tied to are located in the middle of the site.
Colonel Vu Huu Sang, vice chief of Son La Prison, said the firing range hasn’t been used since the last drug-related criminals Vang A Gio and Luong Van Hoa were executed earlier this year, in June.
Chieng Mung is not the only slope in Son La that has served as a firing range. Many other mountains and hills in this dramatic landscape have hosted similar grim scenes.
The grave of Luong Van Hoa, one of the two last criminals executed at Chieng Mung firing range, is marked by a wooden tombstone (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
In earlier years, executions were publicly announced so that locals could come to witness the moment the criminals expiate their guilt. Since 2004, they have been conducted in secrecy to ensure social security.
Unspoken rules were observed before and after each execution, said Lo Xuan Le, a former chief of a police unit in charge of conducting executions who is now a lawyer. He is considered the man who holds the most secrets about Son La’s firing ranges.
On average, five to seven criminals were executed each year in Son La, according to the official. A board set up to conduct the execution included policemen, health staff, local authorities and, most importantly, the firing squad, he said.
“The members of the squad who actually hold the guns used to eliminate a fellow human are under most intense psychological pressure,” Le said.
Le was assigned to train his staff three days before each execution, and one of the three days was for mental work to help them ease their minds both before and after an execution.
“Honestly, no one is happy to hold up a gun and kill a person, even if he is a criminal.
“Once, I had to escort a chief of the firing squad to take the shot to a criminal’s head after I realized that the officer was psychologically unstable.
“It is against normal procedures to escort someone, but I opted to do that to ensure the safety of other staff members and avoid psychological shock in case the shot missed its target,” Le added.
After each execution, members of the firing squad under Le’s management were taken to an alcohol-fueled party so that they could air their grievances and relieve their minds before going home.
“The small party is an unspoken tradition between me and the Son La Court,” Le added.
Another tradition consisted of giving members of the firing squad several days of leave from duty after an execution so that they could return to their home town and make offerings to their ancestors. This is a traditional practice of Thai, Muong, and Mong ethnic minority people performed in order to ensure that the souls of their dead relatives are not misled by dead criminals.
The firing range is also a place of burial, and each grave is marked by a wooden tombstone inscribed with the deceased’s name, home town, age and date of death.
Remains of some dead criminals have been taken home by their relatives for reburial, but others were left at the site and have received no visitors for a long time, said Sang. Nonetheless, the abandoned graves have been adorned with incense, flowers, and fruit, and they are also cleaned on special days by prison authorities.
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