Overview
- House Bill 186, which took effect Wednesday, July 1, makes firing squads Idaho’s default method of execution and keeps lethal injection as an alternative.
- The Idaho Department of Correction spent about $1.2 million to retrofit the prison’s F‑Block and buy rifles so the state can carry out both firing‑squad and lethal‑injection executions.
- Official protocols call for a three‑shooter team with two alternates and a team leader using .308‑caliber rifles loaded with one live round apiece, shooters firing in unison from roughly 10 yards, a heart‑target over the condemned person, and a coroner to pronounce death.
- Medical staff will monitor the condemned person with an electrocardiogram for up to two minutes and officials may authorize a second volley of shots if the inmate remains alive after the first firing.
- Volunteer shooters must be certified Idaho law‑enforcement officers who meet training and conduct standards and whose identities are protected by state law, while advocates and rights groups continue to raise legal and ethical objections and courts and public debate may shape what happens next.