Justice Department Encourages Firing Squads for Federal Executions
Federal officials have advised prison staff to consider firing squads as lethal injection drugs remain difficult to obtain. Four states have authorized the method and Idaho is updating its execution chamber.
Federal prison officials received guidance last month to consider execution by firing squad because lethal injection drugs have become harder to secure nationwide. South Carolina has conducted three firing squad executions in recent years. Officials placed a hood over each prisoner’s head and fired rifles at a red bull’s-eye positioned over the heart.
Four additional states have authorized firing squads. Idaho is renovating its execution chamber to accommodate the method.
Public executions were common in the United States before the early 20th century. Roughly 20,000 people attended the nation’s last public hanging in 1936. Lawmakers later moved executions behind closed doors. A Texas state legislator, Ben Z. ” Grant proposed lethal injection as a more modern approach.
Many states adopted the method after it proved effective in veterinary medicine.
Autopsies have shown that some prisoners who appeared peaceful during lethal injection were actually paralyzed and may have experienced sensations similar to drowning. Dr. ” Firing squad executions have been less prone to visible complications, though South Carolina executioners missed a condemned man’s heart in one case last year.
Support for capital punishment has declined from 80 percent in 1994 to just over half of Americans today. The death penalty remains legal in 27 states. Staff involved in lethal injections have reported lasting psychological effects. In 2022 interviews, more than two dozen execution participants described insomnia, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
Federal officials carried out 13 executions by lethal injection during the previous presidential term. It remains unclear whether any federal executions will occur under current policy.
