U.S. lawmakers pass bill allowing firing squads for capital punishment

Utah lawmakers have passed a bill that would make it the only state in the U.S. to allow firing squads for carrying out a death penalty if there is a shortage of execution drugs. The Republican-sponsored bill, which passed the state Senate on Tuesday, was introduced amid nationwide concerns about the efficacy of lethal injections. The bill would require Utah to use a firing squad if lethal injection drugs are not on hand 30 days before an execution. It now goes to Governor Gary Herbert, who hasn’t said if he’ll sign the measure. Utah used firing squads for decades before adopting lethal injections in 2004.

The legislation would make Utah look backwards and backwoods.

Utah American Civil Liberties Union representative Anna Brower

There are a handful of inmates on Utah’s death row who can already choose to be executed by firing squad because they were sentenced before 2004, according to NBC News. The state last used the method in 2010. Utah is one of several states to seek out new forms of capital punishment after a national series of botched lethal injections. Legislation to permit firing squads has been introduced in Arkansas this year. In Wyoming, a measure to allow firing squads if the lethal drugs aren’t available died. In Oklahoma, lawmakers are considering legislation that would let the state to use nitrogen gas to execute inmates.

World Utah firing squad