Firing Squad as an Execution Method

Execution by firing squad is one of the oldest methods still authorized in parts of the United States. It survived the rise of electrocution, gas and lethal injection largely as an alternative method, but drug-supply problems and litigation over lethal injection brought it back into active use in the twenty-first century.

Modern U.S. use

Utah retained a strong historical association with the firing squad and reauthorized it in 2015 when lethal-injection drugs were unavailable. South Carolina later authorized the method and carried out three firing-squad executions in 2025. Idaho changed its law so that firing squad became the state's primary execution method effective July 1, 2026.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center's current method overview, firing squad is authorized in five states. The legal hierarchy differs by jurisdiction: in some states it is an alternative or backup method, while Idaho's 2026 law elevated it to primary status.

Procedure and controversy

The prisoner is typically restrained in a chair with an aiming point placed over the chest, and a team of shooters fires simultaneously. States design the procedure so responsibility cannot easily be attributed to one shooter. Debates over the method often focus on whether rapid blood loss makes it more reliable than lethal injection, but modern cases have also generated questions about shot placement and the accuracy of the procedure.

An autopsy following Mikal Mahdi's 2025 South Carolina execution reported that only two of the three bullets struck him and neither hit the heart as intended, ensuring that firing-squad reliability would remain part of the broader execution-method debate.

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Sources

– Death Penalty Information Center — Methods of Execution – Death Penalty Information Center — Execution Method Descriptions – Death Penalty Information Center — Authorized Methods by State