On Wednesday, March 13, Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 37, which will add the firing squad as a method of execution in Idaho. Starting July 1, 2026, Idaho will be the only state to utilize the firing squad as the primary method of execution.
The bill amends Section 19-2716 of the Idaho Code to introduce execution by firing squad as a permissible method of capital punishment. The bill also removes lethal injection as a specified method, replacing all mentions to refer to the firing squad.
In 2023, Idaho passed HB 186, allowing for firing squads as a method of execution, but only as a back-up method when lethal injection failed. HB 37 revises this, placing the firing squad above lethal injection.
“I have long made clear my support of capital punishment,” Little said to the Idaho Statesman. “My signing of House Bill 37 is consistent with my support of the Idaho Legislature’s actions in setting the policies around methods of execution in the state of Idaho. As governor, my job is to follow the law and ensure that lawful criminal sentences are carried out as ordered by the courts.”
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Idaho is one of five states that utilizes the firing squad as a means of execution. As of March 13, Idaho will be the only state to use the firing squad as the primary method.
ACLU of Idaho spokesperson Rebecca De Leon commented, “Regardless of how the state conducts executions, the ACLU of Idaho remains adamant that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment’s protections to all citizens against cruel and unusual punishment. It is upsetting that Idaho’s officials continue to expand into more barbaric ways to kill a person who has already been removed from society.”
Idaho Department of Correction public information officer Sanda Kuzeta-Cerimagic spoke to the Idaho Capital Sun about renovations costs. She said that initial estimates to renovate the executions chamber to allow for a firing squad are $952,589, exceeding the initial 2023 budget of $750,000.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg, and over a dozen other House Republican lawmakers, from the Idaho Capital Sun.
Dakota Steffen can be reached at arg-news@uidaho.edu.