BOISE, ID – Executions in Idaho are officially on hold as the state prepares to implement the firing squad as its primary method of capital punishment, according to reporting by the Idaho Statesman.
The Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) announced that, as of May 23, the execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution has been shut down. “As a result, all executions and execution-related procedures will be unavailable, including execution by lethal injection,” IDOC said in a statement.
The construction project to retrofit the facility is expected to take six to nine months and will include a dedicated section for firing squad executions.
Idaho last executed a prisoner in 2012 and has since encountered numerous legal and logistical obstacles in carrying out death sentences. The most recent execution attempt, in February 2024, failed when officials were unable to locate a suitable vein to administer lethal injection to death row prisoner Thomas Creech.
“I laid on that table and fully expected to die that day,” Creech told the Idaho Statesman. “And actually, to be honest with you, I still feel like I’m dead and this is just the afterlife.”
Creech remains under a stay of execution while a federal judge determines whether a second attempt would violate his constitutional rights. He has been on death row for decades following convictions for multiple murders.
In a separate ruling, a federal judge barred the state from conducting any executions until it improves media access. U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora Grasham issued a preliminary injunction after several news outlets sued the state, arguing that reporters were denied access to witness critical stages of the execution process, including drug preparation.
“There is a significant public interest in upholding First Amendment principles,” Judge Grasham wrote in her decision.
IDOC Director Bree Derrick said the department is committed to complying with the new law, which mandates the use of the firing squad. “We are confident that we will be able to make that happen in advance of the July 1 effective date next year,” she told the Idaho Statesman.
Once the law takes effect, Idaho will become the only state in the nation to designate the firing squad as its primary method of execution, with lethal injection serving as a secondary option. While four other states have laws permitting firing squad executions, none currently use it as their primary method.
Critics of the policy, including the Death Penalty Information Center, questioned the investment of public resources into reviving the controversial method.
“It’s up to the voters of Idaho to determine whether they approve of this kind of tremendous investment of time, money and resources,” said Robin Maher, the group’s executive director.
With the execution chamber under renovation and the federal injunction still in place, the Idaho Statesman reports that no executions are expected to take place in Idaho before 2026.
