Idaho aims to reinstate the firing squad

The Idaho State Senate has approved a bill that would allow for death row inmates to be executed by firing squad if lethal injection drugs are not available within five days of issuing a death warrant. The House Bill 186 has been passed with a veto-proof majority vote of 24-11. Idaho is one of the several states facing a shortage of these drugs required for a lethal injection, with some executions being postponed. The bill aims to resolve this issue, but not everyone supports it.

I’ve seen the aftermath of shootings, and it’s psychologically damaging to anybody who witnesses it, The use of the firing squad is, in my opinion, beneath the dignity of the state of Idaho. – Senator Dan Forman (R-Idaho)

The bill’s opponents argue that besides the inmate, many other individuals, including the firing squad sections and the cleanup crew, will bear witness to the psychologically scarring execution. They argue that the firing squad is an inhumane method of punishment that should not be used, and there are better means to resolve the current drug shortage supply issue.

Idaho Department of Correction Director, Josh Tewalt, has also opposed the possible resorting to firing squads. He said that it would be hard to ask his staff to carry out such an execution method since their involvement in executions already has negative psychological effects.

Execution by way of firing squad is antiquated and bottom line, inhumane. It is deeply concerning that Idaho is reverting to such barbaric methods. – Edwina Elcox, Defense Attorney from Boise

On the other hand, lawmakers such as Representative Bruce Skaug (R-Idaho), the bill’s sponsor, hailed the new bill as a crucial measure to bring justice to victims and their families. In his opinion, enabling executions by firing squads is not inferior to the current methods now in place to deal with convicts who commit first-degree murder.

Today, four other states – Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, and South Carolina – have the firing squad as an alternative method for executing death row inmates. However, they have only used this method thrice since its reintroduction in 1976.

President Joe Biden, during his campaign, pledged to work on ending the death penalty. However, he has been silent on the matter to date.

The state has eight death row inmates at present. However, state prosecutors have not yet mentioned whether Brian Kohberger, charged with killing four University of Idaho students, will face the death penalty.

The Idaho Department of Correction has estimated that creating a death chamber for executing firing squads would cost approximately $750,000, and it also expects to face almost as much legal challenge as with the current methods of dealing with the drug shortage supply issue.

The bill is now awaiting a decision from Governor Brad Little (R-Idaho), who has not commented on the issue.

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