Firing Squads Could Return to Indiana

Indiana may bring back the firing squad as a potential means of carrying out death sentences.

Indiana Statehouse — Source: PHOTO: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

Firing Squads Could Return to Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana could bring back firing squads as a backup for executions under a new bill introduced in the state Senate.

Sen. Mike Young (R-Indianapolis) filed Senate Bill 11, which would let the Department of Correction carry out executions with a five-person firing squad if lethal injection drugs aren’t available. Inmates could also choose this method.

A firing squad is a method of execution where a group of shooters simultaneously fires rifles at a single person. The prisoner is typically blindfolded or hooded, restrained, and may have a target placed over their heart to ensure a more rapid death.

In that setup, four people would fire blanks and one would fire the live round, but none of them would know who has it. Their identities would be kept confidential, and the bill shields them from any civil or criminal liability.

Right now, Indiana can only use lethal injection, but getting the drugs has become tough and costly. The state reportedly paid about $275,000 for the dose used in Roy Lee Ward’s 2001 execution, and other doses had to be thrown out after they expired

Back in June, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith suggested on social media that Indiana should legalize firing squads.

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