Health policy
Officials revisit firing squads after lethal-injection failures
Idaho uses firing squad as its default execution method, and Tennessee lawmakers have urged alternatives after Christa Pike’s failed lethal-injection attempt.
Officials in several states and at the federal level are turning again to firing squads as lethal-injection drug shortages and failed execution attempts draw scrutiny, Time reported. In Tennessee, lawmakers called for alternatives after Christa Pike’s lethal-injection execution attempt failed. MedPage Today reported that Pike received two doses of pentobarbital and survived. The Tennessee Department of Correction said it followed its protocol, according to MedPage Today.
Time reported that firing squads are permitted in five states: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. Idaho recently made the method its primary means of execution. South Carolina carried out three firing-squad executions last year, the report said. President Donald Trump authorized firing squads for federal executions in April and approved the method for the scheduled Dec. 3 execution of Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood, Time reported.
Tennessee has ordered an independent review of Pike’s execution attempt, according to MedPage Today. The report said executions in the state are paused.
