A newly established law from Idaho is slated to let death row inmates be executed by firing squad once again, reinstating the “Gem State” as one of the five remaining states to utilize that method of execution.
As explained in a recent Associated Press report, the bill was pushed through sporting a majority that made it entirely veto-proof — and stipulates that the option can only be utilized for instances in which the executions planned in the state cannot be carried out via lethal injection due to unavailability of the drug cocktail 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,” expressed the AP in a social media post 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 rising number of states have taken steps to look for other alternatives to the now standard lethal injection drugs — which seems to have been driven by a number of pharmaceutical companies attempting to stop things by rejecting order from executioners over the past few years.
“Pfizer makes its products to enhance and save the lives of the patients we serve,” expressed the drug manufacturer back in 2016 alongside another statement released explaining that the company would not be refusing to sell to any state governments if they planned to make use of the cocktails for executions — or would third-party sell them to a company or party that would intent to do so. “Pfizer strongly objects to the use of its products as lethal injections for capital punishment.”
Throughout the administration of former President Donald Trump, a total of 13 federal inmates were executed by making use of pentobarbital, a sedative drug, but a number of defense attorneys made the argument that the drug inflicted a sensation of drowning and suggested that a firing squad would even be a more humane method.
Back in 2019, a filing spotlights a number of experts who claimed otherwise, stating that a person’s death via firing squad was not always immediate and the final moments of the condemned person could be “severely painful, especially related to shattering of bone and damage to the spinal cord.”
Those standing against the new law, such as Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), were quick to jump up to speak and attack the Republican leadership within the state for pushing through such a change.
“The @GOP are so pro life they believe death by firing squad is ‘humane,'” tweeted the governor.
The @GOP are so pro life they believe death by firing squad is “humane.” https://t.co/PxQNGumUsV
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 20, 2023
