I think in the past, I've made my opinion of the death penalty known. I see this as a very interesting step in the history of the medium.
Leaving aside any discussion of the morality of the death penalty... this just feels a lot more brutal than lethal injection. I understand the point in the article, that it could be more humane than injection if done right, but that doesn't change my immediate reaction to it. A firing squad is just... messy. I guess you could argue that the "messiness" of it is a more effective deterrent, although I can't help but think that the crimes that would incur a death penalty aren't usually committed after weighing the risks of punishment... Also, who signs up for being an executioner in that position? Injection, electric chair... Sure, it's killing someone regardless, but flipping a switch or depressing a syringe strikes me as slightly more removed* from the outcome of the act than shooting someone in the back of the head (or looking them in the face while you do it...). *I can't quite untangle why I think lethal injection or electrocution (is that still done? I have no idea) is more removed from the act of killing than shooting someone. In all of those cases, you start a mechanical process that results in someone's death. I guess there are a few more points of failure than shooting someone in the head (a circuit could blow, the dosage could be wrong), but it doesn't seem like that should make a huge difference.
This isn't something I ever see brought up during discussions surrounding this, but I think there's something to be said for not executing people in the same manner as the many gun murders that happen every year in our country. Also, you're increasing the number of people directly performing an execution on another person by having a team of rifle-folk. Is that inconsequential? I'm not sure. At any rate, I don't think modern rifles would be slower or more painful. This isn't the 1800's. We're far past the point where these weapons aren't perfectly accurate. Certainly not many at once.