In close vote, Utah House OKs firing-squad proposal
FILE - This June 18, 2010, file photo shows the firing squad execution chamber at the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah. A bill to resurrect the use of firing squads in Utah has passed its first hurdle at the state Legislature. A House law enforcement committee voted 5-4 late Wednesday afternoon to approve the measure, with Republicans and one Democrat voting against. Clearfield Republican Rep. Paul Ray says the firing squad, with trained marksmen and a restrained inmate, offers a swift, more humane death than lethal injection, with less of a risk of complications.(AP Photo/Trent Nelson, Pool, File)
SALT LAKE CITY >> A controversial proposal that resurrects Utah’s use of firing squads to carry out executions has advanced in the state legislature by a handful of votes.
Utah’s House of Representatives initially voted 35-35 on the proposal Friday morning, but after three missing lawmakers were summoned the floor and one lawmaker switched, the measure passed 39-34.
It now faces an unclear fate in Utah’s GOP-controlled Senate, where leaders have declined to say if they’d support it.
Republican Gov. Gary Herbert has not revealed if he will sign the bill.
The bill from Republican Rep. Paul Ray would call for a firing squad if Utah cannot get lethal injection drugs 30 days before an execution.
Critics say the firing squad is a gruesome relic of Utah’s Wild West past and would bring international condemnation upon the state.
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