The concept feels like a relic from a grainy black-and-white movie. You probably picture a dusty courtyard, a blindfold, and a cigarette. But execution by firing squad us isn't just history; it's a very real, very modern legislative reality that’s sparking massive legal battles across the country.
People think the death penalty is basically just lethal injection now. It's not.
While lethal injection remains the primary method, the machinery of the American death penalty is currently grinding through a major supply chain crisis. Drug companies don't want their products associated with killing people. They’ve cut off the supply. This has left states like South Carolina, Idaho, and Mississippi scrambling for alternatives, leading them straight back to the rifle. It sounds brutal. Honestly, it is. But some inmates are actually fighting in court to choose the firing squad over the needle.
The messy reality of execution by firing squad us
Why would someone choose to be shot? It sounds counterintuitive.
If you look at the data from the Death Penalty Information Center, lethal injections go wrong way more often than you'd think. We’re talking about "botched" executions where it takes two hours to find a vein, or the drugs don't work right, and the person basically suffocates while conscious but paralyzed. In contrast, execution by firing squad us is statistically incredibly "effective." It’s fast. It’s reliable. It’s hard to mess up if the shooters are trained.
Utah has been the modern pioneer here. Since 1976, only three people in the United States have been executed by firing squad, and all three were in Utah. The most famous was probably Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010.
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How it actually works in the room
It’s not a chaotic scene. It’s clinical.
The prisoner is typically strapped into a chair with sandbags piled around them to catch the bullets and prevent ricochets. A target is pinned over the heart. Five shooters—usually anonymous law enforcement officers—stand about 20 feet away behind a wall with a small opening. Here's the kicker: one of them is given a "blank" round. This is called the "conscience round." It allows every shooter to tell themselves they might not have been the one who fired the fatal shot.
Does it work? Psychologically, maybe. Physically, the result is almost instantaneous. Gardner was declared dead within two minutes. Compare that to the execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma, which took 43 minutes of visible agony during a botched lethal injection.
The legislative push in South Carolina and Idaho
States are getting desperate.
South Carolina passed a law recently that essentially says if lethal injection drugs aren't available, the default is the electric chair, but the inmate can choose the firing squad. They actually spent tens of thousands of dollars renovating the death chamber at Broad River Correctional Institution to accommodate rifles. They had to install bullet-resistant glass and a specific metal chair.
The Idaho legislature followed suit in 2023. Governor Brad Little signed a bill authorizing the firing squad because the state couldn't get the pentobarbital needed for injections. It’s a pragmatic move for the state, but a PR nightmare.
- Idaho's logic: The state has a legal obligation to carry out court-ordered sentences.
- The Counter-argument: Critics like the ACLU argue it's "barbaric" and "uncivilized" for a 21-month-old century.
- The Inmate's View: Some lawyers argue that the firing squad is actually more humane because it avoids the "chemical burning" sensation of failed drug cocktails.
It’s a bizarre paradox. We are moving backward in technology to potentially move forward in "humaneness," depending on who you ask.
The constitutional fight over "Cruel and Unusual"
Everything comes down to the Eighth Amendment.
The Supreme Court has never ruled that a specific method of execution is inherently unconstitutional just because it's violent. In Bucklew v. Precythe, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the Constitution does not guarantee a "painless death." That’s a heavy statement. It basically opened the door for states to use whatever method works, provided it isn't intentionally designed to inflict unnecessary torture.
Legal experts like Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham Law School, have argued for decades that the firing squad is technically the most "certain" method we have. She’s one of the leading voices on this. Her research suggests that while the firing squad is visually more shocking to the public, it’s far less likely to result in the prolonged suffering we see with gas chambers or faulty IV lines.
Public perception vs. Medical reality
The public hates the idea of the firing squad. It feels like a military coup or a wild west scene.
Politicians know this. Using lethal injection was always about making the death penalty look like a medical procedure. It’s clean. It looks like putting a pet to sleep. But that’s the "mask" of the death penalty. Execution by firing squad us rips that mask off. It’s loud. It’s bloody. It’s an undeniable act of state-sanctioned violence.
Maybe that’s why some people want it back. It forces society to look at what is actually happening. No more pretending it’s just a medical "procedure."
Why the drugs vanished in the first place
You have to understand the pharmaceutical boycott to understand why we're talking about rifles in 2026.
Back in the day, states used a three-drug cocktail: sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride. Then, European manufacturers—where the death penalty is mostly illegal—started banning the export of these drugs for use in executions.
States tried to go to "compounding pharmacies." These are smaller, local shops that mix drugs. But even they got scared off by the lawsuits and the bad press. Pfizer and other giants have strictly prohibited their products from being used in the death chamber.
So, what’s a Warden to do?
- Wait years for drugs that might never come.
- Try experimental drug combinations (which leads to botches).
- Go back to the old ways.
Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina chose option three.
The psychological toll on the shooters
We rarely talk about the people holding the guns.
In a lethal injection, a person pushes a button or a plunger. It’s disconnected. In an execution by firing squad us, you are aiming a rifle at a human heart and pulling a trigger. Even with the "blank round" trick, the trauma is significant.
Historical accounts from Utah's previous executions suggest that the officers involved often struggle with the experience for years. It’s a heavy burden to ask a state employee to carry. This is one of the primary arguments used by prison reform advocates: the method doesn't just affect the condemned; it damages the survivors and the executioners.
The global perspective
The U.S. is in strange company here.
Most countries that still use the firing squad are authoritarian regimes or nations with very different legal systems than ours—think North Korea, Somalia, or China. Seeing a "Western Democracy" return to this method is a massive talking point for international human rights groups like Amnesty International. They see it as a regression.
But then you have the domestic legal reality. If the Supreme Court continues to move in its current direction, the "availability" of a method will likely trump the "aesthetic" of that method. If a state can't find drugs, the courts are increasingly saying, "Fine, use the chair or the squad."
Misconceptions about the "Last Meal" and Rituals
There's a lot of myth-making here.
People think the firing squad comes with a whole ceremony. In reality, it’s incredibly fast once the inmate is in the room. The "last meal" is still a thing in most states, but it's usually capped at a certain dollar amount (like $40 in Oklahoma).
Another myth: the shooters are just random volunteers. Usually, they are highly trained tactical officers who have to pass a proficiency test specifically for the task. They aren't looking for "glory." Most of them view it as a grim, necessary duty of their job.
What happens next?
The future of execution by firing squad us likely rests on a few pending cases in the Fourth Circuit and potentially a return to the Supreme Court.
If South Carolina successfully carries out an execution by firing squad without a major hitch, expect other states to follow. Proponents will argue it’s "honest" and "efficient." Opponents will argue it’s a "step back into the dark ages."
One thing is certain: the era of the "clean" medical execution is dying. Whether it's nitrogen gas (like we saw recently in Alabama) or the firing squad, the state is being forced to find new ways to kill.
Steps to stay informed on this issue
If you're following the legal evolution of the death penalty, you should keep an eye on these specific areas:
- Track the "Method of Execution" challenges in the 11th and 4th Circuit courts. This is where the real legal precedent is being set right now.
- Monitor pharmaceutical export laws in the EU. Any tightening of these laws further squeezes the US supply of lethal drugs.
- Look at state-level "Secrecy Laws." Many states are trying to pass laws that hide where they get their execution materials. Transparency is the biggest battleground for defense attorneys.
- Check the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) annual reports. They provide the most granular data on which states are actually moving toward firing squads and which are just talking about it.
The debate isn't going away. It's just getting louder. As long as states insist on the death penalty but can't get the "polite" drugs to do it, the rifle will remain on the table. It's a stark reminder that the law isn't just about books and robes—it's about the cold, hard reality of how a government chooses to end a life.