A new Idaho law will allow death row inmates to be executed by firing squad, making the “Gem State” one of only five states that allow that method of execution.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the bill passed with a veto-proof majority — and only allows a firing squad to be used for executions in the state if the drug cocktail used for lethal injections is unavailable at the time.
“A bill that would allow execution by firing squad in Idaho, only if the state cannot obtain drugs needed for lethal injections, passed the Legislature with a veto-proof majority,” the AP tweeted on Monday. “Only four other states have laws allowing firing squads.”
BREAKING: A bill that would allow execution by firing squad in Idaho, only if the state cannot obtain drugs needed for lethal injections, passed the Legislature with a veto-proof majority. Only four other states have laws allowing firing squads. https://t.co/xw7g6C1CEi
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 20, 2023
A number of states have made the move to explore alternatives to the standard lethal injection drugs — in part because over the last several years, some pharmaceutical companies have moved to reject orders from executioners.
“Pfizer makes its products to enhance and save the lives of the patients we serve,” the drug company announced in 2016 coupled with a statement indicating that the company would not sell to state governments if they planned to use the drugs for executions — or would sell them to a private party that would do so. “Pfizer strongly objects to the use of its products as lethal injections for capital punishment.”
During former President Donald Trump’s administration, 13 federal inmates were executed using the sedative drug pentobarbital — but defense attorneys argued at the time that the drug could cause a drowning sensation and suggested that a firing squad might even be more humane.
A 2019 filing cited experts who said otherwise, however, claiming that death by firing squad was not always immediate and the condemned person’s final moments could be “severely painful, especially related to shattering of bone and damage to the spinal cord.”
Critics of the new Idaho law were quick to speak out — including Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who attacked the state’s Republican leadership for green-lighting the change.
“The @GOP are so pro life they believe death by firing squad is ‘humane,'” he tweeted.
The @GOP are so pro life they believe death by firing squad is “humane.” https://t.co/PxQNGumUsV
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 20, 2023
Other states have considered bringing back the electric chair if drug companies will not cooperate, and in 2018, Nevada made a first attempt at lethal injection using the synthetic opioid fentanyl in place of any of the traditional drug cocktails.