A new ruling that has come into effect in the US state of Idaho will allow volunteer law enforcement officers to shoot and kill death row inmates.
The state made the controversial switch on July 1, 2026 to adopt a firing squad as their primary method of execution. Critics have labeled the practise “excruciating”, claiming that it is open to being botched by the shooters, who could in theory deliberately make an inmate suffer.
The decision to make death by firing squad the main form of execution was reportedly made after Idaho experienced a number of issues when attempting to use lethal injection.
The state uses a volunteer system to find those responsible for pulling the triggers on those sentenced to death by firing squad. A team consisting of three anonymous certified law enforcement officers is assembled to carry out justice.
Those officers shoot at the restrained inmate from approximately 30 feet away with .308 caliber rifles.
As per reports, volunteers must meet strict criteria if they are to be chosen. Meanwhile, only the state prison director and deputy know their identity.
Volunteers must also have held a Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) certification for a minimum of three years, while they cannot have faced disciplinary action in the past 12 months relating to firearms or use of force.
The volunteer must also be able to demonstrate proficiency in firearms. This is determined via a test in which the volunteer must prove they can fire several provided firearms with 100% accuracy from at least 21 feet away, as well as hitting a target of the same size, shape and height as the target they will face during the execution.
Would-be volunteers fail automatically if they cannot hit the target with one round from each of the firearms.
According to a report by The Guardian, the state had to show they had updated and retrofitted a death chamber at a maximum security prison south of Boise before the new rules regarding the firing squad being the primary method of execution could come into effect.
The state are said to have spent more than $1 million getting the new chamber ready before the July 1 deadline, with it reported that they spent $24,000 on a rack of AR-style, .308-caliber, scoped rifles to be used by the volunteers.
Four firing squad executions have been carried out in the US since 2025. Two of them went wrong, prompting accusations of ‘botching’. Idaho’s Department of Corrections, though, insisted they are ready ‘to ensure that any execution is conducted in a secure, orderly, and dignified manner’.
There are currently eight inmates on death row in Idaho, including one woman.
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