Idaho isn’t playing games when it comes to capital punishment. After a high-profile botched execution attempt in 2023, the state is taking a no-nonsense approach by making death by firing squad its primary method of execution, as reported by Corrections 1 [1].
Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 37 into law on March 12, a move that cements the firing squad as the top method on Idaho’s list starting next year.
The bill gained traction following the state’s failed attempt to execute convicted murderer Thomas Eugene Creech.
During that debacle, prison officials couldn’t find a viable vein to administer the lethal injection, essentially stalling the process and reigniting the debate over execution methods.
Senator Doug Ricks, who sponsored the legislation, didn’t sugarcoat the issue. He said the firing squad is not only more efficient but arguably more humane than some of the supposedly modern alternatives.
“One thing about this method, it’s pretty sure. It’s not going to be something that gets done part way.”
He even floated the possibility of using mechanical or electronic triggers to remove the human element from the execution process altogether—adding precision and eliminating the moral dilemma for those who would otherwise have to pull the trigger themselves.
This change is a bold response to the increasing difficulty states face in securing lethal injection drugs, often due to pharmaceutical companies bowing to leftist pressure and refusing to supply them. Idaho is done begging. It’s opting for certainty over public relations theater.
Idaho now joins a small group of states—Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah—that permit firing squads in certain situations. But despite being legal in these places, executions by firing squad have remained rare.
