SHOTS FIRED

Bryan Kohberger Could Face Firing Squad Under New Idaho Bill

“There can be about 10 seconds of extreme pain before death at times, but I find it to be, in my personal view, more humane than lethal injection,” Rep. Bruce Skaug said.

If onetime criminology scholar Bryan Kohberger is convicted of the grisly quadruple murder of four University of Idaho students last November, he could be executed by firing squad under the terms of a new bill introduced this week by state lawmakers. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug (R), would allow the use of a firing squad in cases when lethal injection is not available. Though Idaho banned its firing squad more than a decade ago, it has struggled in recent years to procure ingredients for lethal injection executions. Other states have faced a similar shortage, though only Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah currently authorize the firing squad as a backup option. Noting that at least one prisoner on the state’s death row had had his execution canceled due to chemical scarcity, Skaug said, “Our criminal system should work and our penalty should be exacted,” according to the Associated Press. Though he acknowledged firing squads could cause “10 seconds of extreme pain before death at times,” Skaug argued that they were a “more humane” option than lethal injection.