21 February 2025 :
February 19, 2025 - Idaho. (HB 37) Firing squad Bill moves to Senate floor
House Bill 37 to make death by firing squad the main method of execution is moving to the Senate floor for a vote after passing the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee on Wednesday afternoon.
The committee mostly voted along party lines to advance the bill, with both Democrats, Sen. Melissa Wintrow and Sen. James Ruchti voting against its advance. Sen. Dan Foreman was the only Republican on the committee to oppose the bill.
Only 5 states — Idaho, Utah, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Mississippi — allow firing squads for executions. But the firing squad isn’t the primary death penalty method in any of those states
Excluding military executions, 144 people have been executed by firing squads in the entire history of the United States, according to a 2016 law review article.
Only 3 of those firing squad executions have taken place since 1976 — all in Utah — according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
