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BILL # SB 1751 |
TITLE: death sentence; choice; firing squad |
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SPONSOR: Payne |
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PREPARED BY: Jordan Johnston |
STATUS: Senate Engrossed - Revised |
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The bill would expand the allowable methods of execution to include firing squad. The bill further allows all persons sentenced to death to choose lethal gas as method of execution regardless of the date the offense was committed. The bill also makes the enactment conditional on the voter approval of Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 1049.
Estimated Impact
We estimate that the bill would result in a one-time cost to establish executions by firing squad. We further estimate that the bill would result in future ongoing maintenance costs associated with lethal gas executions, however this impact would not occur for at least several years. These costs will ultimately depend on the voter approval of SCR 1049.
ADC estimates the one-time capital cost to establish an execution method by firing squad to range between $1.0 million and $1.6 million. The $1.0 million estimate represents the cost to renovate a current department facility while the $1.6 million estimate represents the cost to construct a new facility. The department further estimates the ongoing maintenance cost for a new facility to be $7,000 annually and a renovated facility to be $10,000 annually. ADC also estimates maintaining the current equipment used for lethal gas executions would result in additional costs to the state, but they are unable to provide a specific cost at this time.
As discussed below in the analysis section, other states have a wide range of costs associated with establishing an execution by firing squad.
Our estimate assumes the following:
1) According to published articles, the cost of establishing a firing squad execution method varies by state, ranging from $53,600 in South Carolina to $750,000 in Idaho. The remaining states that authorize execution by firing squad, Utah, Oklahoma, and Mississippi, did not publish information associated with the fiscal impact of establishing a firing squad execution chamber.
2) Under current law, only those sentenced to death for an offense committed prior to November 23, 1992 can elect lethal gas as a method of execution. The bill would expand this method as an option for all persons sentenced to death. Due to this requirement, the bill would result in future maintenance costs to maintain the facilities associated with lethal gas executions.
4/20/26