Advertisement

US state lawmakers approve firing squad

South Carolina Democrat Justin Bamberg has railed against a bill aimed at jump-starting executions.

South Carolina Democrat Justin Bamberg has railed against a bill aimed at jump-starting executions. Photo: AP

The South Carolina House has voted to add a firing squad to the state’s execution methods amid a lack of lethal-injection drugs – a measure meant to jump-start executions in a state that once had one of the busiest death chambers in the nation.

The bill, approved by a 66-43 vote, will require condemned inmates to choose either being shot or electrocuted if lethal injection drugs are not available. The state is one of only nine to still use the electric chair and will become only the fourth to allow a firing squad.

South Carolina last executed a death row inmate 10 years ago.

The Senate already had approved the bill in March, by a vote of 32-11. The House only made minor technical changes to that version, meaning that after routine final votes in the House and Senate, it will go to Republican Governor Henry McMaster, who has said he will sign it.

Several prisoners are in line to be executed. Corrections officials said three of South Carolina’s 37 death row inmates are out of appeals. But lawsuits against the new death penalty rules are also likely.

“Three living, breathing human beings with a heartbeat that this bill is aimed at killing,” said Democratic Representative Justin Bamberg, rhythmically thumping the microphone in front of him.

“If you push the green button at the end of the day and vote to pass this bill out of this body, you may as well be throwing the switch yourself.”

The other three states that allow a firing squad are Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Three inmates, all in Utah, have been killed by firing squad since the US reinstated the death penalty in 1977. Nineteen inmates have died in the electric chair this century.

South Carolina cannot put anyone to death now because its supply of lethal-injection drugs expired and it has not been able to buy any more.

The bill retains lethal injection as the primary method of execution if the state has the drugs, but requires prison officials to use the electric chair or firing squad if it does not.

-AAP

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.