It feels like something out of a grainy black-and-white Western or a history book about the Civil War. Five men, rifles in hand, a target pinned over a heart. But honestly, as we head into 2026, the firing squad isn't just a relic. It is making a massive, controversial comeback in the United States.
You might think lethal injection is the only way the government handles executions these days. It’s "cleaner," right? Or at least that was the pitch for decades. But pharmaceutical companies have basically gone on strike, refusing to sell their drugs to prisons for executions. This has left states in a total bind.
Some states are looking backward to move forward. They are dusty off the old ways.
If you're wondering what states have the death penalty by firing squad, the list is short but growing. As of right now, only five states officially have it on the books: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.
The State of Play in 2026
The landscape shifted significantly last year. South Carolina really broke the seal in early 2025. After a 13-year pause because they couldn't get the right chemicals, they brought back the rifles.
In March 2025, South Carolina executed Brad Sigmon. It was the first time since 2010 that anyone in the U.S. had been put to death by a firing squad. It wasn't "smooth." Critics called it barbaric. Supporters called it effective. Then they did it again in April with Mikal Mahdi and once more in November with Stephen Bryant.
South Carolina basically gives the inmate a "menu" of options: the electric chair, lethal injection, or the firing squad. If the drugs aren't there, the choice narrows down fast.
Idaho’s Big Pivot
Idaho is the one to watch right now. They aren't just keeping it as a backup. Starting July 1, 2026, the firing squad becomes Idaho’s primary method of execution.
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Think about that.
The state has spent the last year and a half gutting and remodeling its execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. They had to. Their last attempt at a lethal injection for Thomas Creech was a disaster—the medical team tried eight different times to find a vein and just... couldn't.
Governor Brad Little signed the law making the switch because he was tired of the legal "limbo" caused by drug shortages. By this summer, the rifles will be the first choice in Boise, not the last resort.
How It Actually Works (No Hollywood Fluff)
It’s not like a movie where a dozen guys stand in a line. In most of these states, like Utah and South Carolina, the protocol is very specific.
Usually, it’s a team of five volunteer marksmen. They use .30-caliber rifles. They stand about 15 to 20 feet away behind a wall with a small port. One of the rifles—randomly chosen—is loaded with a "dummy" or wax bullet. This gives every shooter "moral deniability," so they don't know for sure if they were the one who fired the fatal shot.
The inmate is strapped into a chair. They wear a hood. A doctor locates the heart and pins a small white circle over it.
The shots are simultaneous.
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Experts like Dr. Jonathan Groner, a surgeon who has studied executions, argue that while it's violent, it is technically faster than a botched injection. If the shooters are accurate, the heart is pulverized, and the blood pressure drops to zero instantly. Unconsciousness follows in seconds. But "if" is a big word. An autopsy from the Mahdi execution in South Carolina showed that the bullets didn't actually hit his heart directly. It's never as precise as the law wants it to be.
Why Other States Keep It in the Wings
Mississippi and Oklahoma have it, but you don't hear about it as much. Why? Because it's their "Plan C" or "Plan D."
In Mississippi, the law says they prefer lethal injection. If that fails or the drugs are gone, they go to nitrogen hypoxia (the gas method Alabama used recently). If that is held up in court, then they look at the electric chair. Finally, if all else fails, they bring in the firing squad.
Oklahoma follows a similar "ladder" of methods.
Utah is the old guard. They never really let go of it. They are the only state that actually used it in the last few decades before South Carolina’s recent spree. Ronnie Lee Gardner was the last one there, back in 2010. In Utah, you can still choose it if you were sentenced before 2004, or if the state simply can't find the drugs.
The Complicated Reality
Is it "humane"? That depends on who you ask.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and groups like the Death Penalty Information Center argue that there is no such thing as a "humane" way for the state to kill a person. They point to the trauma it causes the shooters and the witnesses.
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On the flip side, some death row inmates have actually sued to be executed by firing squad. They’ve watched the horror stories of lethal injections—men gasping for air for 20 minutes, feeling like their lungs are on fire—and they decide a bullet is a better way out.
It’s a weird, dark irony. The method most people find the most "primitive" is sometimes the one the condemned person prefers because it’s over in a heartbeat.
What’s Next?
If you're following this, keep an eye on Indiana. They’ve been debating a bill (Senate Bill 11) early this year to add the firing squad to their list too.
The trend is clear: states are tired of the "medicalized" execution failing. They are going back to mechanical methods.
If you want to stay updated on this or check the status of specific cases, the best move is to track the Death Penalty Information Center’s state-by-state database. They update the legal status of execution protocols in real-time as legislatures vote. You can also look up the Department of Corrections websites for Idaho and South Carolina, as they are currently the most active in defining how these procedures will look for the rest of 2026.
Knowledge of the law is your best tool here. The rules are changing faster than the headlines can keep up.