Idaho lawmakers have taken another step toward reinstating the firing squad as the state’s primary execution method, just months before accused killer Bryan Kohberger stands trial for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students.

The bill, H0037, passed the Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee and is now advancing to the House floor. It would replace lethal injection as Idaho’s main method of execution.

Rep. Bruce Skaug, who previously helped restore the firing squad as a backup option, said the change is necessary due to increasing problems with lethal injection. His push comes after the botched execution attempt of convicted serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech last year.

“I, along with many others, believe the firing squad is more certain, has less appellate issues, and is more humane than other forms of execution,” Skaug told Fox News Digital.

Creech, one of Idaho’s most notorious inmates, was first sentenced to death for the 1974 murders of John Wayne Bradford and Edward Thomas Arnold, whom he shot after they picked him up hitchhiking. His sentence was later commuted to life in prison, but after he killed fellow inmate David Dale Jensen in 1983, he was placed back on death row.

He has been convicted of five murders across Idaho, Oregon, and California and has confessed to many more, though authorities only suspect him in a handful of those additional killings.

Despite his violent history, Creech survived his scheduled execution after lethal injection drugs failed, highlighting the challenges states face in carrying out capital punishment. He was the fourth condemned inmate in the U.S. to survive a botched lethal injection in recent years.

The primary problem, experts say, is the limited supply of the drugs used in lethal injections. After the last American manufacturer of a key drug ceased production in 2009, states have struggled to obtain the necessary chemicals. The leading remaining supplier, an Italian company, has refused to sell the drugs due to opposition to the death penalty.

Supporters of the firing squad argue that it provides a more reliable and efficient execution method. Fordham University professor Deborah Denno, a leading expert on capital punishment, has noted that past executions by firing squad have been swift and without complications.

“We’ve had three modern firing squad executions, and they have gone off as intended, and the inmate has died quickly and with dignity,” Denno said following Creech’s failed execution.

The Idaho Capital Sun reported that the state’s proposed firing squad would be mechanized and automated to further reduce potential human error.

“At first when you hear firing squad, if you’re not familiar with the history, you think ‘well that sounds barbaric’ is what I’ve heard from some,” Skaug said during a recent hearing. “It is certain. It is quick. And it brings justice for the victims and their families in a more expeditious manner than other types.”

The bill is advancing just as prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Kohberger, a former criminology Ph.D. student accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in their off-campus home in Moscow.

The victims—21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves and 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin—were found brutally murdered on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger, who was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.

His trial is scheduled for later this year. A judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf at his arraignment.

If the death penalty is imposed, and if the bill passes, Kohberger could be among the first to face execution by firing squad under Idaho’s new law.

#Idaho #BryanKohberger #TrueCrime #DeathPenalty #FiringSquad #Justice #CapitalPunishment

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Idaho Advances Firing Squad Bill As Bryan Kohberger Trial Approaches

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