https://sputnikglobe.com/20230227/idaho-may-legalize-the-firing-squad-could-be-used-on-kohberger-1107828998.html
Idaho May Legalize Firing Squads, Could be Used On Quadruple Murder Suspect
Idaho May Legalize Firing Squads, Could be Used On Quadruple Murder Suspect
Sputnik International
Three people have been killed by firing squad executions in the United States in the last 50 years, the last occurring in 2010 in Utah by a prisoner who picked... 27.02.2023, Sputnik International
2023-02-27T02:16+0000
2023-02-27T02:16+0000
2023-02-27T06:58+0000
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Idaho state Representative Bruce Skaug, a Republican has introduced a bill to the state legislature that would once again legalize death by firing squad in the state.If the law passes, it could be used for Bryan Kohberger, the 28-year-old accused of murdering four University of Idaho students on November 13. Prosecutors say he was linked to the crime by DNA evidence and cell phone location data.Prosecutors have not announced if they will seek the death penalty in the case. Kohberger is expected to enter a plea in June and prosecutors have until July to announce if they will seek the death penalty.Currently, lethal injection is the only legal method of execution in the state of Idaho. If Skaug’s bill passes it would allow the state to use a firing squad if the chemicals needed for the execution cannot be obtained by the state five days after the death warrant is signed.Last November, the state had to cancel the execution of Gerald Pizzuto Jr. who was convicted in 1985 of murdering two people, because the state did not possess the necessary chemicals to perform the execution. Pizzuto’s execution has since been rescheduled for March 23.Idaho has had issues getting the chemicals necessary to perform a lethal injection and even passed a law last year enabling companies and pharmacies to remain anonymous when they provide the chemicals, but the state’s shortage has remained.Skaug told the state House Ways and Means Committee that he believes that firing squads are more humane than lethal injections because the death is short and lethal injection executions are sometimes botched.However, firing squad execution botches, though rare, are known to occur occasionally. According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, there were two botched firing squad executions in the state, one in 1951 when a prisoner was shot in the hip and abdomen and took “several minutes” to die. Another firing squad execution was botched so badly in 1879 that it compelled one newspaper to sarcastically comment that “the French guillotine never fails.”Currently, four states have legal forms of firing squad executions: Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, and South Carolina. Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah allow prisoners to choose between death by lethal injection or firing squad, while South Carolina requires death row inmates to choose between the electric chair and firing squad if the state cannot obtain the chemicals necessary for lethal injection.The law proposed by Skaug will give prisoners no choice in the matter.“Our criminal system should work and our penalties should be exacted,” Skaug said at the meeting.While issuing the most recent death warrant for Pizzuto, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador implied that he supports bringing back other methods of execution to the state.“We hope the Legislature will also consider giving the State an alternative method of execution,” Labrador said, also adding that the state will continue seeking the necessary drugs to perform a lethal injection.Meanwhile, Skaug said that his law is necessary to uphold the justice system in the state. “Our criminal system should work and our penalties should be exacted,” Skaug said.The bill will next go to the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Skaug, for debate on if it should be introduced in the Idaho House of Representatives.If it passes, it will be the second time in modern days that the state legislature legalized the practice. Firing squad executions were made legal in the state in 1985 but no prisoners were put to death by that method before the option was removed in 2009.
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bryan kohberger, death penalty, lethal injection, bill to legalize firing squads, firing squad idaho
bryan kohberger, death penalty, lethal injection, bill to legalize firing squads, firing squad idaho
Idaho May Legalize Firing Squads, Could be Used On Quadruple Murder Suspect
02:16 GMT 27.02.2023 (Updated: 06:58 GMT 27.02.2023) Three people have been killed by firing squad executions in the United States in the last 50 years, the last occurring in 2010 in Utah by a prisoner who picked that method.
Idaho state Representative Bruce Skaug, a Republican has introduced a bill to the state legislature that would once again legalize death by firing squad in the state.
If the law passes, it could be used for Bryan Kohberger, the 28-year-old accused of murdering four University of Idaho students on November 13. Prosecutors say he was linked to the crime by DNA evidence and cell phone location data. Prosecutors have not announced if they will seek the death penalty in the case. Kohberger is expected to enter a plea in June and prosecutors have until July to announce if they will seek the death penalty.
Currently, lethal injection is the only legal method of execution in the state of Idaho. If Skaug’s bill passes it would allow the state to use a firing squad if the chemicals needed for the execution cannot be obtained by the state five days after the death warrant is signed.
Last November, the state had to cancel the execution of Gerald Pizzuto Jr. who was convicted in 1985 of murdering two people, because the state did not possess the necessary chemicals to perform the execution. Pizzuto’s execution has since been rescheduled for March 23.
Idaho has had issues getting the chemicals necessary to perform a lethal injection and even passed a law last year enabling companies and pharmacies to remain anonymous when they provide the chemicals, but the state’s shortage has remained.
Skaug
told the state House Ways and Means Committee that he believes that firing squads are more humane than lethal injections because the death is short and lethal injection executions are sometimes botched.
“I am not [an] expert on the matter. What I have read is that there can be about 10 seconds of extreme pain before death [during a firing squad execution] at times, but I find it to be, in my personal view, more humane than lethal injection. Lethal injection gets botched about six to eight percent of the time and is a mess.”
However, firing squad execution botches, though rare, are known to occur occasionally. According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, there were
two botched firing squad executions in the state, one in 1951 when a prisoner was shot in the hip and abdomen and took “several minutes” to die. Another firing squad execution was botched so badly in 1879 that it compelled one newspaper to
sarcastically comment that “the French guillotine never fails.”
Currently, four states have legal forms of firing squad executions: Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, and South Carolina. Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah allow prisoners to choose between death by lethal injection or firing squad, while South Carolina requires death row inmates to choose between the electric chair and firing squad if the state cannot obtain the chemicals necessary for lethal injection.
The law proposed by Skaug will give prisoners no choice in the matter.
“Our criminal system should work and our penalties should be exacted,” Skaug said at the meeting.
While issuing the most recent death warrant for Pizzuto, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador implied that he supports bringing back other methods of execution to the state.
“We hope the Legislature will also consider giving the State an alternative method of execution,” Labrador said, also adding that the state will continue seeking the necessary drugs to perform a lethal injection.
Meanwhile, Skaug said that his law is necessary to uphold the justice system in the state. “Our criminal system should work and our penalties should be exacted,” Skaug said.
The bill will next go to the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Skaug, for debate on if it should be introduced in the Idaho House of Representatives.
If it passes, it will be the second time in modern days that the state legislature legalized the practice. Firing squad executions were made legal in the state in 1985 but no prisoners were put to death by that method before the option was removed in 2009.
