Yesterday, Utah became the lone state to utilize firing squads for executions after the governor signed legislature approving them.
According to the Associated Press, firing squads will now be an alternative form of execution to lethal injection. What's more, Gov. Gary Herbert even described the method as "gruesome," but claimed the state needed another option in case there's a shortage of the drug used for injections. In a statement, his spokesman, Marty Carpenter, reiterated that this would only happen in the most extreme of situations:
We regret anyone ever commits the heinous crime of aggravated murder to merit the death penalty, and we prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued.
What's more, Herbert's office also cited other states like Washington and New Hampshire, where other barbaric forms of execution are used: both of the aforementioned states allow hangings under certain circumstances. The Associated Press reports that Rep. Paul Ray sponsored the bill, claiming it was the most efficient form of execution.
The state's last execution by firing squad took place in 2010, and, per the Associated Press, there are no lethal injection drugs readily available in Utah at the moment.
[via Associated Press]
