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The legislators of Idaho approved on Monday a bill that would allow the execution of the death penalty by shootingaccording to the legislature’s online site.
State Representative Bruce D. Skaug confirmed the move in a statement, according to CNN.
“H186 has now passed the Idaho Senate and House of Representatives with a veto-proof majority,” Skaug wrote in an email to CNN. “With the Governor’s signature, the state is more likely to bring justice, as determined by our court system, against those who have committed first-degree murder.”
A total of 24 legislators voted in favor of the bill, while 11 voted against it.
House Bill 186 now moves to the desk of Republican Gov. Brad Little.
Under the measure passed in Idaho, firing squads will be used only if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections and if the execution of a death row inmate has been postponed multiple times due to drug shortages.
Idaho previously had a firing squad option in its laws, but has never used it. The option was removed from state law in 2009 after the US Supreme Court upheld the use of a commonly used lethal injection method for executions.
Only Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina currently have laws that allow firing squads if no other methods of execution are available, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
A judge has suspended South Carolina’s law authorizing execution by firing squad until a lawsuit challenging the method is resolved.
Iowa’s Republican Gov. Brad Little has voiced his support for the death penalty, but typically doesn’t comment on legislation before signing or vetoing it.
Keep reading:
• Oklahoma gets ready to execute a man a month, despite lethal injection rulings
• The Supreme Court authorizes the execution by firing squad of a person sentenced to death
• South Carolina judge rules against the death penalty by electric chair or by firing squad