Utah lawmakers are to propose the reintroduction of firing squads to execute those on death row, following recent issues with acquiring the drugs for lethal injections.
Republican Representative Paul Ray claims that death by firing squad is more humane and cheaper than the current alternatives to kill inmates, and has said that he will propose its reintroduction as an option for criminals sentenced in his state during the next legislative session in January.
The effort to change the laws come in the wake of the botched execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma last month, where his vein “exploded” and it taking 43 minutes before he finally died of a heart attack.
Utah only banned execution by firing squad in 2004, but those sentenced before that date are still able to choose death by firing squad. Ray’s proposal would offer this option to all those on death row.
The last person to be killed by firing squad in the US was Ronnie Lee Gardner on 18 June 2010, after the inmate threatened to sue the state of Utah if the option was not offered to him, as he would prefer it to lethal injection because of his Mormon heritage.
The only state where death by firing squad remains legal is in Oaklahoma, but it can only be offered to inmates if lethal injection and electrocution are found unconstitutional.
Lethal injection has become the execution method of choice across most US states in recent years, but with many of the drugs used in the lethal cocktail are distributed by European pharmaceutical companies, which have banned their use in the killing of individuals. Finding the drugs has therefore become increasingly difficult, and lawmakers are looking for alternative options.
Politicians in Wyoming and Missouri have already tried to reintroduce firing squads as options for execution, but both efforts have failed.