Eight death row inmates in Idaho could become the first people to face a horrific new $1.2 million execution method that has been described as “prolonged and agonizing”.
On July 1, Idaho became the only state in the US where condemned prisoners will automatically face a firing squad instead of lethal injection, which is the method most commonly used in modern America.
State officials have revealed exactly how the executions will take place inside the state’s newly renovated execution chamber, which cost over a million dollars.
Idaho becomes the first state to adopt the firing squad as its primary form of execution. Credit: Jose A. Bernat Bacete / Getty
Why Idaho switched to firing squads
Idaho currently has eight inmates on death row, including seven men and one woman, all convicted of murder.
The move followed the state’s failed attempt to execute convicted serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech in February 2024.
Execution staff spent about an hour trying to find an intravenous line for lethal injection, puncturing Creech several times before eventually abandoning the execution.
The incident sparked scrutiny of the method and led to lawmakers adopting firing squads as a more reliable alternative.
How the executions will be carried out
Unlike other execution methods, Idaho will rely on volunteer law enforcement officers rather than prison staff, the Daily Mail reported.
Each firing squad will consist of six officers, with three designated to fire the fatal shots while two alternates remain on standby.
A sixth officer will serve as team leader, loading the state-owned rifles and overseeing the execution.
The identities of the volunteers will remain confidential under Idaho law, with only the prison director and deputy director knowing who the shooters are.
Not every officer is eligible to volunteer, as participants must be certified Idaho law enforcement officers with at least three years of Peace Officer Standards and Training certification.
They must also have no disciplinary findings involving excessive force or firearms and cannot be related by blood or marriage to either the inmate, the victim, or their families.
Before qualifying, each volunteer must repeatedly hit a heart-sized target during firearms testing without missing.
Idaho switched after lethal injection, the method most commonly used in modern America, ran into difficulties. Credit: Johannes Kroemer / Getty
Inside Idaho’s new execution chamber
Taxpayers have spent more than $1.2 million upgrading the state’s execution facility.
Construction work cost more than $900K, while architectural design and engineering added another $314K.
The state has also bought five Daniel Defense DD5-P rifles chambered in .308 Winchester, complete with scopes, suppressors, and bipods, at a cost exceeding $24,000.
On the day before an execution, inmates will be offered a mild sedative, with an additional dose available several hours before the execution.
The prisoner will then be strapped into a specially designed execution chair while medical equipment monitors their heart activity.
A target will be placed over the inmate’s chest before the prison director reads the death warrant and offers the prisoner a final opportunity to speak. They may also request an eye covering.
The three volunteer shooters will then stand around 10 yards away behind a protective wall and will shoot through a narrow opening.
Officials say the design is meant to limit the shooters’ exposure and lower the potentially traumatic effects of carrying out the execution.
Once ordered, each officer will fire a single .308-caliber round simultaneously toward the inmate’s heart.
Medical personnel will then monitor heart activity using an electrocardiogram for up to two minutes.
If the inmate is still alive, prison officials can authorize a second volley of shots before the county coroner officially pronounces death.
Many people have condemned capital punishment. Credit: Sean Rayford / Getty
Critics condemn the new system
Idaho has become the seventh state to authorize firing squads as an execution method, with more states now permitting death by gunfire than at any other point in US history.
Many people in support of the method have argued that it is a dependable way of carrying out executions after years of problems involving lethal injection drugs and failed procedures across the country.
However, critics have contended that the law change does not address the ethical concerns surrounding capital punishment.
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, slammed the policy, saying: “Every new execution method in history has been introduced with the promise that it will be foolproof and ‘more humane’ than the previous method. Unfortunately, those promises have always been broken.”
She added that Idaho officials had spent more than $1 million of taxpayer money implementing “a firing squad – a method of execution that has already proven to be as flawed as any other”.
Responding to the criticism, IDOC Director Bree Derrick told the Idaho Statesman: “The Idaho Department of Correction recognizes the gravity of carrying out a court-ordered execution and the responsibility that comes with it.
“Our procedures are designed to ensure that any execution is conducted in a secure, orderly, and dignified manner while safeguarding the rights of all individuals involved and maintaining the safety and security of staff, witnesses, and the public.”
