BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Next month, an Idaho law goes into effect making the firing squad a secondary means of execution.
With the chemicals needed for lethal injection harder and harder to find, Idaho is working to establish a firing squad as an alternate option.
Idaho Department of Correction officials say it's reviewing policies from other jurisdictions to develop an understanding of what's needed for the infrastructure. The policies and procedures they develop will serve as the foundation for the design of a facility, a spokesperson for IDOC said.
So CBS2 reached out to other states with execution by firing squad on the books to see what it might take to build a facility here.
Washington and Oregon are moving away from the death penalty altogether. Washington abolished it this spring.
"The penalty has been applied unequally and in a racially insensitive manner. Let's be clear, by this act, we are ending the death penalty in the state of Washington, period," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said as he signed the legislation on April 20, 2023.
Former Oregon Governor Kate Brown commuted the sentences of all death row inmates last year.
But Idaho is leaning into it.
"It's important for victims, those who were murdered, their families, and for the rule of law," said Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, during the 2023 session. "It is certain and it is quick."
Gov. Brad Little said in his transmittal letter, "It is the responsibility of the state of Idaho to follow the law and ensure that lawful criminal sentences are carried out."
In 1982, the firing squad became an option in Idaho, but it was never used. In 2009, it was taken off the books.
Utah is the only state in the modern era to use the firing squad to execute inmates.
Utah procedure requires the prisoner to be seated in front of a wood panel between stacked sandbags to keep bullets from ricocheting around. A target is placed over the inmate's heart, the inmate is given two minutes for final words, and five shooters set up more than 21 feet from the chair with rifles pointing through slots in the wall. Two rounds are loaded in each weapon, one of them with two blank cartridges.
Renovations to South Carolina's capital punishment facility were completed in March of last year - about 10 months after adding the firing squad as a secondary means of execution.
According to South Carolina officials, the inmate would be strapped to a metal chair, have a hood placed over their head, a small target placed over the heart, surrounded by protective equipment. Bullet-resistant glass separates the witness room from the death chamber. The chair faces a wall with a rectangular opening 15 feet away.
The firing squad members -- volunteers who work for the department of correction -- are behind the wall with rifles facing the inmate through the opening, which won't be visible to the witnesses. All three rifles would be loaded with live ammunition.
After the warden reads the execution order, the team fires. Then a doctor examines the inmate and a curtain is drawn.
South Carolina officials say they spent about $53,600 to make the changes.
Idaho lawmakers have already put aside $750,000 dollars for the Idaho State Department of Correction to set up the facility.
"There's no way in the world you're going to spend $750,000 on a firing squad facility. The firing squad facility that was pictured on news stories is a chair with about 10 bags. I assume they're sandbags adjacent to the chair with a brown wall in back of it," Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, said during floor debate in the House.
During debate in the Senate, Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg, said he had talks with IDOC's director, Josh Tewalt.
"That is possible with electronics to use some sort of remote trigger on there. It could be scheduled. You wouldn't necessarily have to have several people in a line as a firing squad. They could [do it] in what would appear to be a more humane way of doing it," Ricks said.
In fact, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, in 1913, Nevada invented an automated firing squad - made up of three rifles mounted on an iron frame that fired simultaneously. It was only used once.
Oklahoma has never used a firing squad as a method to execute prisoners since statehood, but current law allows for it if other methods are deemed unconstitutional or unavailable. According to reports from the Associated Press, Oklahoma does not currently have execution protocols in place for any method other than lethal injection
Idaho's law reinstating the firing squad as a secondary means of execution is set to go into effect on July 1, 2023. It's unclear when a facility could be up and running. At this point, IDOC officials say they can’t speculate about a timeline for the process.
ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifK%2Bx1qxmpaeTlrlww8eeqZ5lmah6qrDOnGSarF2eu26x0q2Ym6SZqLWqusZmmGaemae2r7OMrKiumZRis6KvyKWgrbE%3D