Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) on Monday signed a law allowing execution by firing squad in the event that lethal injection drugs are unavailable, even if he said he thinks it’s “a little bit gruesome.”
Despite his apparent distaste for the practice, the governor said he wants a backup method to injections for Utah’s next execution, according to the Associated Press.
“We regret anyone ever commits the heinous crime of aggravated murder to merit the death penalty, and we prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued,” Herbert spokesman Marty Carpenter said on Monday.
“However, when a jury makes the decision and a judge signs a death warrant, enforcing that lawful decision is the obligation of the executive branch,” Carpenter said.
Contemplating firing squads earlier this month, Herbert described them as “gruesome” and “barbaric,” according to the AP.
“We’ve had it before, and I know it’s a little bit gruesome and certainly looks a little bit barbaric,” he said. “But as we hear from medical personnel, it’s probably not a bad way to die if you believe in capital punishment.”
Herbet’s judgment on the practice didn’t sound so different from the conclusion of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, which said the law made the state “look backward and backwoods,” according to AP.
Utah is one of several states jolted into considering alternatives to lethal injection after an infamously botched execution in Oklahoma last year. States in the U.S. have also been running low on the proper drugs to kill inmates as European manufactures refuse to sell.
