USA - Idaho

USA - Idaho. House Justice Committee passes firing squad (HB 37)

February 3, 2025:

February 3, 2025 - Idaho. (HB 37)
Idaho bill to make firing squad main death penalty method heads to full House
Idaho House Republicans on Monday advanced a bill that would make death by firing squad the main death penalty method in Idaho.
Presenting House Bill 37 to the Idaho House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee on Monday, bill sponsor Rep. Bruce Skaug, R, called the firing squad “more humane because it’s quick and certain.”
9 people are on death row in Idaho, according to the Idaho Department of Correction.
All Republicans on the Idaho House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted to advance the bill to the Idaho House. Two Democrats on the committee — Rep. Chris Mathias and Rep. John Gannon, both Democrats from Boise — voted against the bill.
Only 5 states allow firing squad. Lethal injection is the primary execution method in Idaho law.
In 2023, Idaho passed a law — approved by the Idaho Legislature and signed by Gov. Brad Little — to allow firing squads as an execution method. But that law only allowed firing squads as an alternative executive method when lethal injection is unavailable.
Skaug’s bill this year would make lethal injection the alternative execution method.
Only 5 states — Idaho, Utah, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Mississippi — allow firing squads for execution, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
In the United States, 144 executions have been carried out by firing squads, according to a 2016 law review article.
Since the death penalty became reinstated in the 1970s, Utah is the only state to have executed people by firing squad, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Idaho called off last planned execution, by lethal injection, in 2024
In February 2024, the Idaho Department of Correction called off the scheduled execution of death row inmate Thomas Creech after officials said they failed to establish an IV line to administer lethal injection chemicals, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
Following Creech’s called off execution, Idaho Reports in September reported the IDOC began renovating the execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution near Kuna.
IDOC spokesperson Sanda Kuzeta-Cerimagic told Idaho Reports at the time that phase 2 of the retrofit included “evaluating design and layout options for accommodating a firing squad.”
In October, IDOC announced lethal injections for execution can use a central vein.

https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/02/03/idaho-bill-to-make-firing-squad-main-death-penalty-method-heads-to-full-house/