Idaho OKs veto-proof bill to allow execution by firing squad

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A bill that would allow Idaho to execute condemned inmates by firing squad is headed to the governor’s desk after passing the Legislature with a veto-proof majority. Firing squads will be used only if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections. One death row inmate has already had his scheduled execution postponed multiple times because of drug scarcity. The Death Penalty Information Center says only Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina currently have laws allowing firing squads if other execution methods are unavailable. A judge has put South Carolina’s law on hold until a lawsuit challenging the method is resolved.