US EditionShould Indiana Allow Execution by Firing Squad? A New Bill Will Make It Legal
The bill would permit firing squad executions if lethal injection drugs are unavailable, citing $300,000 per dose; Indiana has five people on death row, officials said.
- On Tuesday, an Indiana Senate panel considered Senate Bill 11, authored by State Sen. Michael Young, to allow firing-squad executions if chemical methods fail or at an inmate's request.
- Over the past year, Indiana officials spent at least $1 million on execution drugs, with Gov. Mike Braun disclosing $600,000 lost on expired pentobarbital amid manufacturer refusals, Young said.
- Under the proposal a five-member Department of Correction team selected by the prison warden would execute, with four officers firing live rounds and one firing a blank to conceal the fatal shot.
- The committee did not act Tuesday; proposed amendments are due Friday, with a vote expected next week on a bill affecting five people on Indiana's death row and federal executions at Terre Haute.
- Critics including Robert Dunham called the bill "a solution in search of a problem" as five states allow firing squads and 80% of national execution totals used lethal injection last year.
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14 Articles
New Bill Adds Firing Squad as Option for Indiana Death Row Executions
State Sen. Michael Young (WISH-TV) INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers are considering a bill this legislative session that would allow the state to execute death row inmates by firing squad, with more than one shooter simultaneously firing at the inmate. Currently, the state of Indiana only allows lethal injection for death row inmates. Supporters of the bill said the lethal doses can be difficult to obtain and are expensive at $300,000 a dose. On…
WFFT FOX 55 Fort Wayne
‘A fail-safe option’: Lawmakers debate firing squad executions in Indiana
A bill that would allow executions by firing squad if lethal injection drugs are unavailable or at an inmate’s request is fueling ongoing debates over secrecy, drug costs and “humane” methods of capital punishment.
‘A 'fail-safe' option: Lawmakers debate firing squad executions in Indiana
A bill that would allow executions by firing squad if lethal injection drugs are unavailable or at an inmate’s request is fueling ongoing debates over secrecy, drug costs and “humane” methods of capital punishment.
'A fail-safe option': Lawmakers debate firing squad executions in Indiana
Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, discusses his Senate Bill 11, which would allow Indiana to use a firing squad to carry out executions, during a committee meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Photo by Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)A bill that would allow executions by firing squad if lethal injection drugs are unavailable or at an inmate’s request is fueling ongoing debates over secrecy, drug costs and “humane” methods of capital punishmen…
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