Indiana lawmakers are considering a bill this legislative session that would allow the state to execute death row inmates by firing squad, with more than one shooter simultaneously firing at the inmate.
Currently, the state of Indiana only allows lethal injection for death row inmates. Supporters of the bill said the lethal doses can be difficult to obtain and are expensive at $300,000 a dose.
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law heard from the bill’s author, State Sen. Michael Young, a Republican from Indianapolis. He clarified that the bill doesn’t eliminate lethal injection as the way to execute death row inmates.
“This bill doesn’t say it has to be a firing squad,” Sen. Young said. “It says that if they can’t do it by chemical methods, that this is another alternative left up to them.”
Sen. Young’s bill is one of many measures pending in the 2026 session related to the death penalty.
Zack Stock with the Indiana Public Defender Council said he’s opposed to the bill. He also spoke before the Senate committee on Tuesday, calling the bill “a solution in search of a problem.”
“Whether you believe the death punishment is morally wrong or just punishment that saves lives, Senate Bill 11 isn’t going to change how capital punishment operat
The committee did not take any action on the bill on Tuesday.
4 comments
Wait…$300k for lethal injections? That doesnt even sound right.
The activists opposing the death penalty helped set that up to deter the use of the death penalty.
Good! Activists like Zach Stock have the situation warped to the point that if this expensive and scarce lethal drug isn’t available, the execution cannot proceed because it might be “unsafe” (no kidding!), so putting the firing squad on the table does an end run around those leftist shenanigans.
I support this bill 100%.
The only thing is, ammo is expensive too but ROPE is reusable!
Firing squad should be the primary means of giving these threats to society a dirt nap. Lethal injection wouldn’t be any less stressful (like that should matter) because you know the outcome before it starts. Paying 300k per shot is ludicrous.