Firing squad could become Idaho's main execution method under a bill awaiting governor's approval

BOISE, Idaho — (AP) — Death by firing squad could become Idaho's primary method of execution under a bill headed to the governor's desk this week.

The Idaho Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, and it will take effect next year if it is signed by Gov. Brad Little.

Firing-squad executions have been a back-up method in Idaho since 2023, available only if prison officials are unable to obtain lethal injection drugs.

Rep. Doug Ricks, the bill's sponsor, said the legislation was spurred by Idaho's botched attempt to execute Thomas Eugene Creech last year, when execution team members were unable to find a suitable vein for an IV line. He suggested shooting someone was more effective and humane than other execution methods. He speculated that the state could use a machine or "electronic triggering methods" that would eliminate the need for human volunteers to pull the triggers.

“One thing about this method, it's pretty sure,” Ricks said during a hearing on the bill last month. “It's not going to be something that gets done part way.”

Four other states — Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah — also allow the use of firing squads in certain circumstances, but the method has rarely been used in recent history. South Carolina is expected to put the first person to death by firing squad in the U.S. in 15 years, with the planned execution of Brad Sigmon set for Friday.

The Federal Defender Services of Idaho, which represents many of the people on the Idaho's death row, declined to comment on the bill.

Idaho Department of Correction officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The prison recently finished remodeling its lethal injection chamber to add a space where execution team members can use more invasive methods of inserting an IV line deep into the body near the heart if they can't successfully place an IV line in the condemned person's arms or legs.

Republican Sen. Daniel Foreman, a retired police officer and former Air Force veteran who served in combat, was the only Republican to debate against the bill on Wednesday. He said he has seen shooting deaths, and that they are “anything but humane.”

“The consequences of a botched firing execution are more graphic, more mentally, psychologically devastating” than other botched execution methods, Foreman said.

Democratic Sen. Melissa Wintrow agreed, calling firing squads “barbaric” and saying they would create bad optics for the state.

But Republican Sen. Brian Lenney said lawmakers should remember why capital punishment is imposed.

“If we're talking about terror, and we're talking about barbaric, I think we should remember why this man is on death row in the first place,” he said, describing some of the criminal charges against Creech.