In recent years, the 31 states with the death penalty have run into major problems with the use of lethal injection. The use of the injection has led to multiple court challenges to the method of execution, coming after several executions gone wrong. And then there’s the difficulty in obtaining the lethal drugs used to kill death row convicts.
Some states have reacted by suspending executions or trying to abolish the death penalty. Mississippi is kind of moving in the other direction:
Mississippi lawmakers are advancing a proposal to add firing squad, electrocution and gas chamber as execution methods in case a court blocks the use of lethal injection drugs.
House Bill 638 is a response to lawsuits filed by “liberal, left-wing radicals,” said House Judiciary B Committee Chairman Andy Gipson, a Republican.
The bill passed the House amid opposition Wednesday, and it moves to the Senate for more debate.
This isn’t as uncommon as it probably sounds: Two other states (Utah and Oklahoma) already offer the firing squad as an option. It might even be a more humane and dignified way of putting someone to death.
But those methods will probably be challenged someday, too. If they’re revived and used with any frequency, it’s probably not a viable long-term way of saving the death penalty.
