Come July, a new Idaho law will require the state to prioritize use of the firing squad when performing executions. It will become the first state in the country to make shooting prisoners condemned to death its method of choice, followed by lethal injection.
Idaho’s turn to the firing squad follows years of controversy surrounding its procurement of lethal injection chemicals and its failed 2024 execution of Thomas Creech. Creech’s execution was called off when a medical team repeatedly failed to establish the IV line needed to deliver the injection.
In an interview with a PJP editor, Ryan Mortensen, a spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Correction, said the department is evaluating options to “procure a remotely operated system” — an effort intended to reduce staff involvement in the gruesome process.
“It is a traumatic thing to experience,” Mortensen said. “The number one priority is safety and security for all involved.”
IDOC is currently reviewing how other states have implemented firing squad executions. If a remote option is not obtained, Mortensen said, “a manual process will remain necessary as a back up.”
A corrections officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said he heard the eventual weapon would likely be placed on a stand and “operated by a computer to release a firing pattern.”
“It’s kind of like Call of Duty,” the officer added.
Today, only four other states are legally authorized to use the firing squad for executions. The method is rarely used. Last year, South Carolina became the first state in 15 years to execute a prisoner by firing squad when three volunteer prison employees shot rifles at a red bull’s eye over the heart of Brad Keith Sigmon. Sigmon chose the method over lethal injection.
Idaho’s death chamber is located at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, in a cellblock adjacent to the track and ball field at Idaho State Correctional Institution, where I’m incarcerated. The sound of gunfire from a nearby firing range regularly echoes throughout the compound.
The range is being used for routine training by local law enforcement, including the Idaho Department of Corrections, said Mortensen.
The occasional small eruptions are eerie.
“It’s as close to full-auto as you can get,” Mark Hopson said of the sound. (Mortensen said that IDOC personnel do not train with automatic weapons.)
In addition to South Carolina, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah have also kept the firing squad on the books. But Idaho is the only state set to prioritize it over other execution methods. South Carolina killed a total of three prisoners by firing squad last year. Prior to that, Utah was the only state in nearly 50 years to deploy its firing squad, for a total of three times.
The view from around the compound
Following Creech’s failed execution, I remember watching a press conference, with corrections officials and media witnesses, live from my unit.
“Why have a punishment that’s more or less for theatrics?” prisoner Jason Stark said during a recent interview in the dayroom. “This is a question of ethics and humanity. Not on the part of the person dying but on the people supporting the system. If taking a life is so horrible, then why are they doing it?”
When asked about use of the firing squad, Stark ranked its perceived humaneness among other methods.
“Lethal injection is better than firing squad,” he said. “Both of those are better than hanging, and better than the electric chair. But really, the most peaceful way to die is by nitrogen asphyxiation.”
Experts tend to disagree. Even some veterinarians oppose the use of nitrogen asphyxiation to euthanize animals because of its uncertain effects, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union.
In line for breakfast, Frank Nicolai, who is 22 years into a sentence of life without parole, told me he’s not a proponent of the death penalty. “But I do believe that people serving fixed-life sentences should be given the option of euthanasia,” he said.
Last year, the Idaho Statesman reported that the state spent $200,000 on execution drugs that expired after going unused.
“I personally think they should just take them out to the courtyard and use a cattle knocker,” Robert Sanders said between mouthfuls of biscuits and gravy. A cattle knocker is a pneumatic device that is applied to the cranium of cattle during slaughter. “Do away with all of the commotion and save the taxpayers money.”
RJ McKinney spent 28 years on death row. He is the closest thing to an expert on the subject that I could find. I caught him walking back from a volunteer shift.
“Killing me isn’t a punishment,” he said. “That’s just getting rid of me. If you really want to punish me, keep me around for the rest of my life and let me think on what I’ve done.”
