The United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth holds Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army major convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, on death row. President Donald Trump recently approved Hasan’s execution by military firing squad, marking the first such execution of a U.S. servicemember since World War II. The decision underscores a broader trend: as lethal injection becomes increasingly unreliable, officials are turning to older, more drastic methods.
Lethal injection has long been the standard method for capital punishment in the U.S. However, supply-chain disruptions and a series of high-profile botched procedures have prompted lawmakers and governors to reconsider alternatives. Last week, Tennessee’s attempt to execute Christa Pike via lethal injection failed, marking the second such incident in the state this year. In response, several Tennessee legislators have called for abandoning lethal injection in favor of more reliable methods.
“If we’re having this much trouble with this particular means of execution, we need to take it off the table and go to something that’s far more reliable and predictable,” Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson stated on a local radio program. Republican Rep. Tim Burchett echoed these sentiments, suggesting the state adopt methods with “very little room for mistakes.” House Speaker Cameron Sexton told the Associated Press that no execution method is currently off the table, with firing squad named as a potential alternative by both Johnson and Burchett.
A Historical Method Returns
Execution by firing squad has been exceedingly rare in the modern era. Between 1976 and 2024, only three individuals were executed by this method in the United States, all in Utah. However, momentum is building to revive the practice. Following Trump’s approval of Hasan’s execution, scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, defense officials announced the event will be livestreamed. This move follows Trump’s authorization of firing squads for federal executions in April.
State-level changes are also accelerating. South Carolina executed three individuals by firing squad last year after a failed lethal injection attempt in 2024, effectively doubling the number of such executions in the U.S. over the previous half-century. Idaho enacted legislation earlier this year establishing the firing squad as its primary method of execution, a shift driven by a botched lethal injection in 2024.
Currently, five states permit firing squad executions: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. Idaho is the only state where the firing squad serves as the default method. In the other four states, it acts as a fallback if lethal injection drugs are unavailable or as one of several options chosen by corrections officials or inmates. Utah designated it as an alternative in 2015, Oklahoma in 2011, Mississippi in 2022, and South Carolina in 2021.
The Mechanics and Controversy
Austin Sarat, a professor of law and political science at Amherst College and author of *Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty*, explains that the procedure typically involves strapping the condemned to a chair, placing a hood over their head, and positioning a target over the heart. Between three and five shooters then fire high-powered rifles at the target. In some jurisdictions, one rifle contains a blank cartridge to ensure shooters do not know who delivered the fatal shot.
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, noted that inmate choice can sometimes be influenced by a lack of information. She reported that at least one South Carolina inmate selected the firing squad last year because they were not provided with complete details about electrocution or lethal injection, leaving the firing squad as the only method they felt adequately informed about.
Pharmaceutical Shortages and Botched Procedures
The push toward firing squads is largely driven by difficulties in securing lethal injection drugs. Oklahoma pioneered lethal injection in 1977, initially using a three-drug protocol involving sodium thiopental, a paralytic, and potassium chloride. When Hospira ceased manufacturing sodium thiopental in 2011, states scrambled to adapt. Most have since switched to single-drug protocols, often using pentobarbital, which experts like Columbia University anesthesiologist Richard Levy describe as flawed and problematic because it may not reliably induce unconsciousness or stop breathing.
The failure of Christa Pike’s execution highlighted these risks. Pike was administered two doses of pentobarbital; she reported burning sensations in her arms due to difficulties accessing a vein. Lawyers initially believed she was brain dead, but she regained consciousness and was walking by Thursday. Such incidents have eroded confidence in lethal injection, which researchers show has the highest rate of botched attempts—approximately 7% between 1890 and 2010, and over 8% between 2010 and 2020.
Drug shortages have also hampered other states. South Carolina failed to execute anyone for over a decade after struggling to obtain drugs, eventually turning to firing squads and electrocution. In 2023, the state contacted more than 1,300 sources before securing pentobarbital. Oklahoma switched to midazolam in 2014 after failing to acquire thiopental or pentobarbital, leading to an execution that lasted 45 minutes.
Debate Over Humanity and Efficiency
Supporters argue that firing squads offer precision and finality. Idaho Rep. Bruce Skaug, who sponsored his state’s law, stated, “It is certain. It is quick. And it brings justice for the victims and their families in a more expeditious manner than other types.” Historical data supports this view; Sarat’s research found no significant botches among 34 firing squad executions between 1890 and 2010. However, an autopsy in one recent South Carolina case indicated the squad missed the heart, suggesting the inmate may have suffered.
Critics, including Sarat, argue that the firing squad is inherently brutal. “Since the end of the 19th century, the United States has been on a quest to find a method of execution that would be safe, reliable, and humane. The firing squad has never played a big role in that story,” Sarat said. “Its brutality is very obvious.” Despite these concerns, the combination of pharmaceutical opposition and procedural failures continues to drive a renewed interest in capital punishment methods long thought to be obsolete.
It is ironic that lethal injection was supposed to be the civilized method. Now we are going back to rifles because of supply chains?
The botched Tennessee attempt really highlights the urgency here. If the drugs fail, something else has to be ready quickly.
Is there any evidence that firearms are actually more humane or reliable than lethal injection? This feels like a backward step.
I never thought I would see the day where firing squads become the standard again. History really does repeat itself in strange ways.
Livestreaming a military execution feels like we are crossing a line into uncharted, disturbing territory for American justice.