I see this bill as being less problematic with appeals in the courts,” said Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, who proposed the change in law.

Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, introduced the bill Tuesday, which would make Idaho the only U.S. state to give preference to a firing squad. Skaug sponsored a bill that became law in 2023 that added back the firing squad as a backup method of execution in the state, but only when lethal injection is not possible because of a lack of execution drugs.

Utah is the only state to have used firing squads in the past 50 years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Idaho’s neighboring state executed Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010 by firing squad. Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina also permit use of the firing squad as an alternative to lethal injection.

Idaho lawmakers have introduced a bill to make a firing squad the primary method of execution in the state. Under Idaho law, lethal injection is the primary method, but executions by firing squad are allowed if executioners can't obtain the drugs required.

A Nampa legislator wants to make death by firing squad the primary way of administering the death penalty in Idaho. Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, introduced the legislation to the Idaho House Judiciary,