Utah Governor Signs Law Reinstating Firing Squad As Backup Execution Method

Firing squads are a legal execution method once again in Utah.

A law signed Monday by Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) establishes firing squads as a secondary execution method in the event the Department of Corrections can't obtain drugs for lethal injection.

Lethal injection remains the primary execution method for Utah and the 31 other U.S. states that allow the death penalty as a punishment for certain murders.

Utah Lawmakers Vote To Allow Execution By Firing Squad

Utah's state Senate voted Tuesday to allow execution by firing squad in instances where lethal injection drugs are not available.

The bill, which passed by a vote of 18-10, would call for the use of a firing squad if lethal drugs could not be obtained at least 30 days in advance of a scheduled execution.

The state's House of Representatives passed the legislation last month. The measure now heads to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R), who has not said whether or not he will sign the bill into law.

Utah Lawmaker: Bring Back Firing Squad Executions

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — In the wake of a botched lethal injection in Oklahoma last month, a Utah lawmaker says he believes a firing squad is a more humane form of execution. And he plans to bring back that option for criminals sentenced to death in his state.

Rep. Paul Ray, a Republican from the northern Utah city of Clearfield, plans to introduce his proposal during Utah's next legislative session in January. Lawmakers in Wyoming and Missouri floated similar ideas this year, but both efforts stalled. Ray, however, may succeed. Utah already has a tradition of execution by firing squad, with five police officers using .30-caliber Winchester rifles to execute Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010, the last execution by rifle to be held in the state.