South Carolina approves execution by firing squad as a type of death penalty

The House of Representatives of the US state of South Carolina approved the execution as an alternative to the electric chair or lethal injection for those sentenced to capital punishment.

It is reported that this issue was brought up for discussion due to the shortage of lethal injections. According to the new bill, if there is a shortage of injections, the prisoner will be asked to choose between the electric chair or the firing squad.

The document approved by the House of Representatives is a slightly modified version of the draft approved by the state Senate in March. Therefore, the law will be re-approved by the Senate without hindrance and sent to the governor, who has already promised to sign it.

At the moment, 37 people sentenced to capital punishment are being held in state prisons, three of them have exhausted the possibility of an appeal process and, as a result, should be executed.

South Carolina will become the fourth U.S. state to allow capital punishment by firing squad. However, the new execution rules are expected to be challenged in the courts.