small room, out of sight. The second prison official would then load the rifle, and return it to the table. Four of the rifles were loaded with live ammunition. One chosen at random was loaded with a wax bullet so that none of the officers would be certain that they fired a deadly shot. The non-lethal cartridge was tested to ensure that the report and recoil were difficult to distinguish from those of a real cartridge. Media coverage Over 168 news and television crews from around the world were on hand to report the execution, which was set up inside a warehouse at Utah State Prison in Draper. Nine media witnesses were allowed to record the actual event. Actor and activist Mike Farrell appeared as a commentator for the American Civil Liberties Union in opposition to the death penalty. Elliott King, the uncle of Charla King, was the sole member of the victim's family to arrive as a witness and expressed that he had no sympathy for Taylor. Sister Helen Prejean, the author of Dead Man Walking, wrote Taylor a letter that was delivered right before his execution. Death Shortly before midnight, Taylor was led into the execution chamber and strapped to a chair 17 feet away from the shooters with a hood covering his head. Multiple bright lights covered Taylor. Sandbags were arranged behind him to prevent any ricochets. The captain walked down the aisle, tapping each shooter on the shoulder to check to see if they were ready. At 12:03 a.m. Mountain Standard Time on January 26, 1996, every shooter fired at the count of five and the white cloth target on Taylor's chest flew off. His chest moved upward and his left hand tightened into a fist. His grip gradually loosened and his head fell back. A doctor checked Taylor's neck for a pulse and cut two holes in his hood to check for a pupillary light reflex. Taylor was declared dead at 12:07 a.m. and became the 49th person to be executed in the state of Utah since 1852. Aftermath After an autopsy, Taylor's remains were cremated and shipped to his uncle Gordon Lee in Oregon. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office said it would specify homicide as the cause of death on Taylor's death certificate because the execution met the state's definition of "death by another's hand." A commemorative coin was created to recognize the