John Jefferson
Idaho lawmakers are moving to bolster their newly restored firing squad as the state’s primary means of execution with eight current death row inmates and the capital murder trial of student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger approaching.
“I, along with many others, believe the firing squad is more certain, has less appellate issues, and is more humane than other forms of execution,” Idaho state Rep. Bruce Skaug, who introduced the legislation, told Fox News Digital. “We had a botched lethal injection attempt in Idaho last year.”
In March 2023, the state revived the firing squad as a backup option for when lethal injection, a troubled and increasingly controversial method of execution, is not available.
IDAHO SERIAL KILELR SURIVES LETHAL INJECTION ATTEMPT, PROMPTING RENEWED PUSH FOR FIRING SQUAD
Then last year, condemned serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech survived his lethal injection, prompting renewed interest in the firing squad.
The new move would make the firing squad the state’s primary means of capital punishment – without any additional cost to taxpayers, since funding for the execution chamber was included in the previous bill.
IDAHO’S MOVE TO RESURRECT FIRING SQUAD ‘MAKES SENSE’ AS ‘QUICKEST, SUREST’ DEATH PENALTY OPTION, EXPERT SAYS
Fordham Law School professor Deborah Denno, a leading expert on the death penalty in the U.S., previously told Fox News Digital that the firing squad is accepted as the most efficient and humane means of execution.
“We’ve had three modern firing squad executions, and they have gone off as intended, and the inmate has died quickly and with dignity,” she said after Creech’s failed execution. “So, I think that is something to emphasize.”
Lethal injections have been plagued by mishaps, drug shortages and botched attempts. Creech was the fourth person to survive a lathe execution in just the last few years.
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Denno has advocated for giving inmates a choice in their means of execution.
“I have a hunch that more inmates would choose firing squad,” she told Fox News Digital, noting that Tennessee inmates have begun choosing electrocution over lethal injection when given the choice.
Only four states have an option for the firing squad, although its use is extremely rare, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which also describes lethal injections as the “most-botched” execution method.
Matt Mangino, a former Pennsylvania prosecutor who wrote a book on capital punishment, “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010,” said in the current political climate, he believes the new Idaho bill will pass.
IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS SUSPECT BRYAN KOHBERGER COULD FACE DEATH BY FIRING SQUAD UNDER PROPOSED LAW IF CONVICTED
Lethal injections look modern and even “clinical,” he said, but can be far more gruesome than they appear. One of the drugs in the typical injection cocktail is a paralyltic meant to keep the condemned from writhing – for witness’ comfort not their own.
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Idaho currently has eight death row inmates, including Creech, and is gearing up or a high-profile trial over the stabbing murders of four college students. Suspect Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old former criminology Ph.D. student, could face the death penalty if convicted.
The firing squad bill remains in committee. A hearing and public testimony has not yet been scheduled, Skaug said.
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