Starting July 1 in Idaho, the state will become the only one within its coalition that primarily uses firing squads for implementing mandatory death penalties. Moreover, it will join just two other states in designating child rape as a capital offense.
Presently, the firing squad is the second-choice execution method in Idaho, following lethal injection.
Right now, five states have incorporated firing squads as an option for executing death sentences. Last March, South Carolina carried out the execution of 67-year-old Brad Sigmon by firing squad. Sigmon had spent nearly 25 years on death row for brutally killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in 2001.
There hadn’t been an execution by firing squad in the U.S. since 2010 until Sigmon’s case.
One of the most contentious aspects of the upcoming law change in July involves Idaho now including the rape of a child under 12 in its list of capital offenses.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court made a 5-4 ruling that executing child rapists was a disproportionate response to the crime, deeming it a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
However, since that ruling, both Florida and Tennessee have moved forward with laws that add child rape as a capital crime. With Idaho following suit, it’s possible the court may need to re-evaluate this issue, especially since the current Supreme Court has a different, perhaps more pragmatic, outlook.
As it stands, there are nine individuals—eight men and one woman—on Idaho’s death row, a place where the death penalty has been enforced only three times in the last fifty years.
I’m not a medical expert, just someone sharing thoughts, but if I had to choose, I’d prefer the quickness of multiple bullets to the heart over any other execution method. The electric chair? No, thanks. Lethal injection might seem peaceful, but it can actually take a while. A bullet to the heart? It seems like it would be over much more swiftly. It might be easier on the person being executed, but it would surely be tough for those observing, given the inherent violence.
In my time, the most notorious executioner would probably be Gary Gilmore. A troubled drug addict and habitual criminal, Gilmore spent significant time behind bars before being released in April 1976 and moving to Provo, Utah. Even after getting chances to turn his life around, he quickly reverted to crime, committing two murders—one of a gas station clerk and another of a hotel manager—just a year later. Both were compliant. They lost their lives simply because Gilmore felt the urge to kill.
These were hasty crimes driven by anger, not monetary gain.
Fortunately for Gilmore, who loathed his life in prison and wanted an end, the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty only weeks before his murders after a four-year hiatus. After being convicted and sentenced to death, Gilmore gained notoriety not just for his refusal to appeal but also for specifically requesting a firing squad.
What I find fascinating is the notable artwork inspired by Gilmore.
The second season of *Saturday Night Live* had an episode featuring the charming holiday song “Let’s Kill Gary Gilmore for Christmas.” It’s quite easy to overlook how wonderful that show used to be. If you happen to have Amazon Prime, check out the clip—it’s a moment worth watching.
In a twist of fate, Gilmore almost got his Christmas wish fulfilled. He was executed by firing squad on January 17, 1977, just over three months after his sentencing.
Later, Norman Mailer chronicled Gilmore’s journey, from parole to trial, relaying the events around his execution in his Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book, *Executioner’s Song*. Tommy Lee Jones even earned an Emmy for portraying Gilmore in a television adaptation in 1982.
If you advocate for the death penalty—like I do—then perhaps firing squad execution is the most compassionate choice.
And frankly, I think child rapists deserve it.
