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Senate narrowly approves HB 11, adding firing squad as fallback if lethal-injection drugs unavailable
Summary
The Senate approved House Bill 11 on a recorded vote after brief debate. The bill allows the firing squad as an execution method if lethal-injection chemicals are unobtainable 30 days before a scheduled execution; final vote was 18–10.
The Utah Senate on Day 43 approved House Bill 11, a measure amending execution procedure to provide the firing squad as a fallback method if the Department of Corrections cannot legally obtain lethal-injection chemicals within 30 days of a scheduled execution.
Senator Hinkins, the bill’s floor sponsor, said the provision preserves a contingency that had remained in code when the state removed the firing squad from primary methods, and that the change is intended to avoid protracted legal fights and the potential loss of the state’s ability to carry out sentences (SEG 814–822). After limited floor discussion, the chamber conducted a roll-call vote. The clerk announced the final tally as 18 yea, 10 nay and 1 absent; the bill passed and was ordered returned to the House for signature (SEG 873–876).
Senator Davis explained his no vote on procedural grounds and stated the measure does not abolish the death penalty but only adds another method, saying in part, “This only puts another alternative on the table” (SEG 854–870). The record shows recorded dissent from members who oppose any extension of execution methods and support abolition, as well as those who favor legislative steps to protect existing statutes from legal challenge.
With passage in the Senate, HB 11 proceeds to the House as required for final signature action.
