Firing Squad-Styled Execution Could Supplement Other Forms of Death Sentence in Mississippi

House Representative Robert Foster believes the majority of Mississippians would support the option.

In this June 18, 2010, file photo, the firing squad execution chamber at the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah, is shown. Trent Nelson/AP

Mississippi’s House of Representatives has drawn up an amendment pushing to execute criminals by firing squad, in the event that lethal injection is too costly or unavailable. 

The proposed house amendment, which can be found here, reads:

“In the event that death by lethal injection chemicals becomes unavailable or is deemed too costly by the commissioner of the Department of Corrections and the Attorney General, death by firing squad may be an option available to the commissioner of the Department of Corrections in order to carry out the execution.”

This is the first proposed amendment onto Senate Bill 2237, which was passed on March 25 by a vote of 80-39.

It's very instant and about as humane as you can get while performing an execution.

— Robert Foster, Mississippi House of Representatives