Utah is the only state in the modern era to actually use a firing squad.
It sounds like something out of a grainy black-and-white Western, or maybe a history book about the French Resistance. But in the Beehive State, it’s a contemporary reality. Most people assume the American death penalty is all about sterile rooms and IV drips. They think of lethal injection. They think of quiet, medicalized endings. But Utah kept a door open to the old ways, and honestly, the reasons why are a mix of religious history, legal loopholes, and some very stubborn inmates.
The strange history of death by firing squad in Utah
You can't talk about this without talking about "Blood Atonement." Back in the 19th century, some early leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) preached a concept where certain sins were so grave that the perpetrator's own blood had to be spilled to atone for the crime. This wasn't just some abstract theology; it seeped directly into the state's legal framework. While the LDS Church has long since distanced itself from the practice and the doctrine, the cultural footprint remained. Utah gave death row inmates a choice. You could choose to be hanged, or you could choose the rifles.
It’s a grim choice.
In 1980, the state finally ditched hanging. That left lethal injection as the primary method, but the firing squad didn't just vanish into the desert air. It stayed on the books as a backup, and for those who had already been sentenced before the laws changed, it remained an option.
Ronnie Lee Gardner and the 2010 execution
The most famous modern instance happened in 2010. Ronnie Lee Gardner was a man who had been on death row for decades. He was there for killing a lawyer during a failed escape attempt at a courthouse. When his time finally ran out, he chose the firing squad. He told his lawyer it was about his Mormon heritage, though some whispered it was a final act of defiance against a system he hated.
The logistics were intense. They didn't just grab five guys off the street. They used five anonymous police officers who volunteered for the task. They stood behind a wall with small ports for their rifles. One of the rifles—nobody knows which one—was loaded with a blank round. This is an old tradition meant to give every officer "moral deniability," so they can go home and tell themselves they might not have fired the fatal shot.
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Does that actually work? Probably not. These guys are professionals; they know the difference in recoil between a live .30-caliber round and a blank.
How the execution actually works
It’s not a wall in a courtyard.
The process is remarkably clinical for something so violent. The prisoner is strapped into a heavy black chair with leather restraints. There are sandbags piled up behind and around the chair to prevent ricochets. The inmate wears a dark jumpsuit. A target—basically a white cloth circle—is pinned over their heart.
The officers stand about 20 feet away. When the signal is given, they fire simultaneously. If everything goes "right," the heart is pulverized, blood pressure drops to zero instantly, and the brain loses consciousness in seconds. It is, ironically, often faster and more "reliable" than lethal injection, which has a nasty habit of being botched when technicians can't find a vein or the drugs don't work as intended.
The 2015 comeback
You might think 2010 was the end of it. It wasn't. In 2015, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a bill that officially brought back the firing squad as a mandatory backup. Why? Because the European companies that manufacture lethal injection drugs got tired of the bad PR and stopped selling them to US prisons.
States started scrambling. Some tried experimental drug cocktails that led to horrific, gasping executions in places like Oklahoma and Arizona. Utah looked at the mess and decided that the rifles were more "humane" because they were certain. If the state can't get the drugs, the firing squad is the legal default.
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The experts weigh in: Is it more humane?
This is where things get complicated and kinda gross. Dr. Jonathan Groner, a surgeon who has written extensively on the death penalty, argues that any method of execution is prone to failure. However, some legal scholars and even some death penalty opponents argue that the firing squad is actually less "cruel" than the needle.
- Speed: Death occurs almost instantly upon the destruction of the heart.
- Certainty: It’s a mechanical process, not a chemical one.
- Transparency: You can't pretend a firing squad is a medical procedure. It’s an act of violence.
Some activists, like those at the Death Penalty Information Center, point out that the firing squad is "messy." It’s loud. It’s bloody. There is a trauma involved for the witnesses and the executioners that a sedative-induced death doesn't carry. But maybe that's the point. Maybe the firing squad forces us to look at what's actually happening without the veneer of a hospital setting.
Where we stand now
Currently, there are still men on Utah’s death row who could potentially face the rifles. Ralph Menzies, for instance, has been in the news recently as his appeals process winds down. The state has struggled to find the specific drugs needed for an injection, which keeps the firing squad conversation very much alive.
It’s a weird legal limbo.
The public opinion in Utah is split. You've got the libertarian streak that distrusts government power, the religious history that favors "eye for an eye" justice, and the modern progressive movement that wants the death penalty gone entirely.
Why this matters for the rest of the country
Utah isn't the only state looking backward. Idaho and South Carolina have also moved to bring back firing squads or other "older" methods as lethal injection drugs become harder to source. What was once a Utah quirk is becoming a national litmus test for how the US handles capital punishment in an era of pharmaceutical shortages.
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If you're following this, you have to realize that death by firing squad in Utah isn't just about the execution itself. It’s about the failure of the "modern" execution. It’s an admission that the medicalized version of the death penalty is broken.
Actionable insights on the Utah death penalty
If you’re trying to wrap your head around this or researching the legalities, here is the reality of the situation on the ground:
1. Check the "Choice" Law: Inmates in Utah can only choose the firing squad if they were sentenced before May 3, 2004. For everyone else, it is only used if lethal injection drugs are unavailable or if the method is ruled unconstitutional.
2. Follow the Case Law: Keep an eye on the Utah Supreme Court. They are the ones who decide when an execution date is set and whether a specific method can be challenged under the "unnecessary rigor" clause of the Utah Constitution.
3. Monitor Pharmaceutical Trends: The use of the firing squad is directly tied to the global supply chain. As long as pharmaceutical companies refuse to sell to corrections departments, "traditional" methods will remain on the table.
4. Understand the Trauma: For those researching the ethics, look into the "Secondary Trauma" studies regarding execution teams. Utah's use of volunteers from law enforcement is a specific psychological choice that differs from the medical teams used in other states.
The firing squad remains a visceral, jarring part of the American legal landscape. It’s not a relic; it’s a contingency plan. As long as Utah maintains the death penalty while facing a shortage of drugs, the rifles will stay cleaned, loaded, and ready in the basement of the Draper or Gunnison facilities. It is the ultimate expression of the state's power, stripped of all medical pretenses.