Utah lawmakers have passed a bill that would make it the only U.S. state to allow firing squads for carrying out a death sentence if there is a shortage of execution drugs.
The state Senate voted 18-10 on Tuesday to reinstate the firing squad more than a decade after abandoning the practice.
It now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert, who hasn’t said if he’ll sign the measure.
The bill would require Utah to use a firing squad if lethal injection drugs are not on hand 30 days before an execution.
The measure’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Paul Ray, says the aim was to give Utah an option as states struggle to obtain lethal injection drugs amid a nationwide shortage.
Opponents say the firing squad is a cruel holdover from the state’s Wild West days.
