Lawmakers in Idaho are proposing to reintroduce firing squads as an alternative method of executing Death Row inmates. Firing squads were legally eliminated as an option, though never used, in 2009. However, trying to obtain the drugs needed for lethal injection executions has caused lawmakers to rethink the option. Currently, firing squads are legal in Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. In South Carolina, the option has been removed from the table until a lawsuit challenging the method concludes.
Republican representative Bruce Skaug is sponsoring the proposed Idaho bill in response to the cancellation of Gerald Pizzuto Jr.’s execution last year due to the inability to acquire the necessary lethal injection chemicals. Pizzuto has been on Death Row for over three decades for his role in the slaying of two gold prospectors in 1985. Skaug believes that if the chemicals are not obtainable, the rule of law should still allow the penalty to be exacted.
Ineffective drugs used in lethal injection executions have also been criticized, violating the Eighth Amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. Pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell drugs to states, knowing they will be used for executions, leading to the questionable procurement of alternative chemicals. Mr. Skaug acknowledges that firing squads can lead to a painful death, but argues that it is a better option than lethal injection.
Surveys of US citizens indicate that public support for the death penalty has declined over the last 20 years. Electrocution remains another execution method open to some states, while the Death Penalty Information Center confirms that only three firing squads have been used to execute convicted criminals since 1976. The proposed Idaho bill will require a public hearing before a decision is made to send it to the full House for consideration.
»A US state is considering bringing back firing squads as a method of executing Death Row inmates.«
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