Utah becomes the only US state to allow execution by firing squad

UTAH’S goveor has signed a law that makes his state the only one to allow firing squads for carrying out executions if no lethal injection drugs are available.

Goveor Gary Herbert signed the bill on Monday. He has said he found the method “a little bit gruesome,” but that it gives the state a fallback execution method.

It is understood the law will reinstate the use of firing squads more than a decade after the state abandoned the practise.

Utah banned death by firing squad in 2004, though death row inmates still had the option to select firing squad for their executions before the law changed.

Currently, death row inmates in Utah can be executed by way of a firing squad, but they must choose the option themselves. The new law allows for the state to use a firing squad regardless of the prisoner’s choice.

On January 17, 1977, Utah became the first state to execute a prisoner after the moratorium ended on the method. Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad, famously uttering the words “just do it” (now used by Nike as a slogan) as his last words.

The last prisoner to be shot to death in was Ronnie Lee Gardner, who was executed by five police officers with .30-calibre rifle in 2010 for killing a bartender and a lawyer.

The bill was passed after an 18-10 vote by the Senate two weeks ago as states struggle to access lethal injection drugs amid a nationwide shortage.

The measure’s approval illustrates the frustration of some states over bungled executions and shortages of lethal-injection drugs.

Utah is one of several states seeking new forms of capital punishment after a botched Oklahoma lethal injection last year.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Paul Ray of Clearfield, touted the firing squad as a more humane form of execution.

He also admitted there was no shortage of volunteers when it came to firing executions.

“We’ve always had a lot more volunteers than actually had spots,” he said.

Opponents say it’s barbaric and a cruel holdover from the state’s Wild West days, and will make Utah look bad.

The Washington DC based Death Penalty Information Centre, which opposes capital punishment, says a firing squad is not a foolproof execution method because the inmate could move or shooters could miss the heart, causing a slower, more painful death.