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USA - Idaho. Governor Little signs HB 37 authorizing firing squad as State’s primary execution method

March 12, 2025:

March 12, 2025 - Idaho. Governor Signs HB 37 Authorizing Firing Squad as State’s Primary Execution Method

On March 12, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 37 into law, making the firing squad the state’s primary method of execution. In a statement to Catholic News Agency, Gov. Little said, “I have long made clear my support of capital punishment…My signing of [this bill] is consistent with my support of the Idaho Legislature’s actions in setting the policies around methods of execution in the state of Idaho.” The bill, which takes effect on July 1, 2026, passed both chambers of the Idaho Legislature by wide margins, with a vote of 28 – 7 in the Senate and 58 – 11 in the House. Just three Republican lawmakers joined all 15 of their Democratic colleagues in voting against the bill. As of November 2024, the Idaho Department of Corrections had not begun work on construction of a secured facility for executions via firing squad, with recent estimates for the pending work running as high as $950,000.

Five states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah — allow for execution by firing squad. Idaho is the only state that authorizes firing squad as its primary method of execution. On March 7, 2025, South Carolina executed Brad Sigmon by firing squad, the state’s first-ever execution by this method and the first execution of its kind in the U.S. since 2010. Per South Carolina law, Mr. Sigmon was tasked with electing his method of execution and ultimately chose death by firing squad because of unanswered concerns with the state’s lethal injection protocol and its more than 100-year-old electric chair.

In 2023, the Idaho legislature passed a bill authorizing firing squad executions as an alternative method if lethal injection was unavailable. Under the new bill, the firing squad is now the primary method of execution and lethal injection is the alternative. A March 2022 secrecy law precludes the state from disclosing to both the public and courts information about the identities, skills, and qualifications of the individuals on an execution team. Those in support of the new legislation argued in committee hearings that the firing squad is a humane method of execution and would avoid the state’s issues in procuring the drugs needed for lethal injection executions. Representative Bruce Skaug, a co-sponsor of the legislation, told colleagues in February that “At first when you hear firing squad, if you’re not familiar with the history, you think ‘well that sounds barbaric’ is what I’ve heard from some…It is certain. It is quick. And it brings justice for the victims and their families in a more expeditious manner than other types.” But Senator Dan Foreman, a veteran and former police officer, and the only Republican senator to vote against the bill, expressed concerns. “Projecting a piece of metal at 3,200 feet-per-second, give or take, through the human body is anything but humane,” he told his colleagues. “I can say that because I’ve seen it. I wished I hadn’t seen it.”

Others, including Senator Brian Lenney, claimed that death by firing squad would be “instantaneous” and “an act of mercy.” Sen. Foreman added that “the claims that it’s instantaneous. Well, yes — sometimes it is, sometimes it is not. And if you’ve ever seen that, I think you would change your mind on how you’re about to vote.” Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow said the bill is “a move backward.” She added, “It’s barbaric, and it unfortunately puts the optics of Idaho in a place that I don’t think we care to be.”

Idaho’s last execution was carried out in 2012. In February 2024, the state attempted to execute Thomas Creech, the longest serving prisoner on the state’s death row, by lethal injection. On February 28, 2024, the execution team tried eight times to establish an IV line to administer lethal injection drugs to Mr. Creech, inserting needles into his hands, feet, and legs, but his veins collapsed each time. After an hour of attempts to establish lines, Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) officials called off Mr. Creech’s execution. His attorneys warned IDOC officials that his age (then 73) and medical conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and edema, could impact circulation and vein quality. Idaho set another execution date for November 2024; however, a federal district court issued a stay of execution to allow for additional time to consider Mr. Creech’s legal claims.

Ahead of Mr. Creech’s scheduled November 2024 executions, IDOC undertook renovations to the F Block unit at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution to create an execution preparation room that cost an estimated $313,915, according to officials. The renovations included imaging, design, and engineering outlined in phase one construction to the unit but did not include phase two construction costs, including the creation of a secured facility for executions via firing squad. In committee hearings, lawmakers said the renovations to build the firing squad chamber would likely cost more than the $750,000 the legislators initially earmarked, but Rep. Skaug indicated any additional funds would come from IDOC’s budget. Reporting from the Idaho Capital Sun in October 2024 indicates this construction would cost an estimated $952,589.

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/idaho-governor-signs-legislation-authorizing-firing-squad-as-states-primary-execution-method