Idaho murders: State Senate passes bill to reinstate execution by firing squad

If convicted of murdering four University of Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger may face the death sentence.

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The Idaho State Senate voted 24-11 on Monday to revive the firing squad as a death sentence option due to a scarcity of lethal injection medications.

House Bill 186, which passed the State House of Representatives by a vote of 50-15-5 earlier this month, allows authorities to order execution by firing squad if lethal injection medications are not available within five days after the issue of a death warrant.

RELATED: The Dark Past Of Bryan Kohberger

The Dark Past Of Bryan Kohberger
The Dark Past Of Bryan Kohberger

The law will now be sent to Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s desk. His office should have replied more quickly to a request for comment on Tuesday morning.

“H186 has now passed the Idaho Senate and House with a veto-proof majority,” said Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, the bill’s House sponsor, on Tuesday. “Upon signature of the governor, the state may now more likely carry out justice, as determined by our judicial system, against those who have committed first-degree murder.”

The term “independent” refers to a person who does not work for the government.

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The term “electronic commerce” refers to the sale of electronic goods. According to The Associated Press, Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, warned that the personnel assigned to the firing squad, the witnesses, and the cleaning team are all in danger of getting traumatized by the event.

The Execution Chamber At The Idaho Maximum Security Institution Is Shown As Security Institution Warden Randy Blades Looks On In Boise, Idaho On Oct. 20, 2011. A Bill That Would Allow Idaho To Kill Condemned Inmates By Firing Squad Is Headed To The Governor'S Desk After Passing The Legislature With A Veto-Proof Majority. Firing Squads Will Only Be Used If The State Cannot Obtain The Drugs Needed For Lethal Injections. (Ap Photo/Jessie L. Bonner, File)
The execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution is shown as Security Institution Warden Randy Blades looks on in Boise, Idaho on Oct. 20, 2011. A bill that would allow Idaho to kill condemned inmates by firing squad is headed to the governor’s desk after passing the Legislature with a veto-proof majority. Firing squads will only be used if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections. (AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner, File)

And Edwina Elcox, a defense attorney in Boise, termed the idea of utilizing a firing squad “atrocious.”

“Firing squad execution is antiquated and, in the end, inhumane,” she told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “It is deeply troubling that Idaho has reverted to such barbaric methods.”

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, and South Carolina have all executed three sentenced inmates by firing squad since 1976.

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Due to its own issues with fatal injections, Utah reinstated firing squads in 2015. It was legal in Idaho until 2009, although it had never been utilized when legislators repealed it.

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Legislature of the State of… by North Eastern Post

Idaho presently has eight death row convicts – and prosecutors have not yet ruled out pursuing the capital sentence in a high-profile triple murder case that left four University of Idaho students dead in November.

Skaug, an alumnus of the University of Idaho, proposed the bill in late February, only weeks after police detained a suspect. 

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Bryan Kohberger is being detained at the Moscow Latah County Jail on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of criminal burglary.

Kohberger is accused of following an off-campus rental property at least 12 times before reportedly slipping in at 4 a.m. on a Saturday, after the victims had spent the night out partying with friends, then ambushing them with a huge knife. Police believe he drove by one final time about 9 a.m., hours after the killings but before surviving housemates awoke and asked for assistance.

RELATED: Idaho Murders In-Depth Analysis 4 the University of Idaho students Murder

Idaho Murders In-Depth Analysis 4 University Of Idaho Students Murder
Idaho Murders In-Depth Analysis 4 University of Idaho students Murder

According to Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, all received numerous stab wounds. Some of them may have been asleep at the commencement of the onslaught.

Police discovered a Ka-Bar knife sheath with Kohberger’s DNA near to Mogen’s corpse.

His next court appearance is planned on June 26, at which time he is anticipated to contest the evidence used to arrest him. He has yet to enter a plea.

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