The firing squad is being added to the electric chair and lethal injection as execution methods in South Carolina – By Christian Spencer (The Hill) / May 11 2021
Those on death row will have to choose between those two former methods if lethal injection drugs aren’t available.
Story at a glance:
- In South Carolina, there are 37 death row inmates.
- Some drugs used for lethal injection have expired and the state hasn’t been able to buy more.
- Three inmates want to file suits against the new law.
South Carolina hasn’t executed anyone in a decade and has been unable to do so in recent years after its supply of lethal injection drugs expired, and it has been unable to procure more. This has prompted the state to open the possibility of bringing back the firing squad.
Approved by the Republican-controlled House and Senate and awaiting to be signed by a Republican governor, who has indicated support, South Carolina is going to execute their 37 death row inmates with electric-powered chairs or teams of gunmen, The Associated Press reported.
When South Carolina does reinstate these capital punishments, it will be the fourth state to allow a firing squad and one of nine in the country to have the electric chair be among its choices for executions, Black Enterprise reported.
Prisoners will still be given the option for lethal injection, but if the drugs aren’t available, they will have to choose between a firing squad and the electric chair. Currently, death row inmates in South Carolina can choose between lethal injection and the electric chair — but since no lethal injection drugs have been available all have chosen that method.
