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Idaho lawmakers are moving to bolster their newly restored firing squad as the state’s primary means of execution with eight current death row inmates and the capital murder trial of student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger approaching.
“I, along with many others, believe the firing squad is more certain, has less appellate issues, and is more humane than other forms of execution,” Idaho state Rep. Bruce Skaug, who introduced the legislation, told Fox News Digital. “We had a botched lethal injection attempt in Idaho last year.”
In March 2023, the state revived the firing squad as a backup option for when lethal injection, a troubled and increasingly controversial method of execution, is not available.
The chair in which John Albert Taylor was strapped during his scheduled execution is shown at Unitas State Prison in Utah on Jan. 24, 1996. Taylor chose to die by a firing squad of five men instead of a lethal injection. (Lee Celano/Reuters)
Lethal injections look modern and even “clinical,” he said, but can be far more gruesome than they appear. One of the drugs in the typical injection cocktail is a paralyltic meant to keep the condemned from writhing – for witness’ comfort not their own.
Madison Mogen smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Idaho currently has eight death row inmates, including Creech, and is gearing up or a high-profile trial over the stabbing murders of four college students. Suspect Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old former criminology Ph.D. student, could face the death penalty if convicted.
The firing squad bill remains in committee. A hearing and public testimony has not yet been scheduled, Skaug said.