Arizona GOP lawmakers advance bills that would allow executions by firing squad

Republican lawmakers on a Senate committee advanced a pair of bills that would give inmates a new option to choose for their method of execution, death by firing squad.

Rep. Kevin Payne (R-Peoria) wants to give inmates the option to choose: death by firing squad, or the current two alternatives in the state constitution: lethal gas or lethal injection.

The default method would remain lethal injection for inmates who don’t choose.

But Payne’s proposal would eliminate that choice for those sentenced to death for murdering a law enforcement officer. They’d be required to face a firing squad.

Since the proposal would amend the constitution, Arizona voters would have to approve the change at the ballot.

The state has a checkered history of executions in the past decade, from struggling to insert IV lines for lethal drugs and issues obtaining the required drugs in the first place.

Payne said his proposal will ensure justice isn’t delayed by drug shortages or other legal obstacles.

“Arizona's death penalty system has been stuck in legal and procedural limbo for too long,” Payne said in a statement. “This proposal establishes clear, constitutional options so lawful sentences can be carried out without years of uncertainty and delay.”

It would mandate a minimum of three volunteers to shoot at the prisoner. Two would be given guns with bullets and one would get a gun with a blank.

Sen. Rosanna Gabaldón (D-Green Valley) called the proposal “inhumane” and “outdated,” adding that she opposes the death penalty. She called for the state to look elsewhere.

“We should invest in evidence-based public safety and rehabilitation programs,” she said.

If voters approve the plan, Arizona will join a handful of other states which also allow that method.