By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- The Idaho Department of Correction has released formal execution protocols establishing that a firing squad composed of volunteer, POST-certified law enforcement officers will carry out death sentences beginning July 1, 2026, when Idaho becomes the only U.S. state with the firing squad as its primary execution method.
- The three-person firing squad — plus two alternates — must each hold at least three years of POST certification, have no recent firearms or use-of-force disciplinary history, pass a live-fire accuracy qualification, and have no familial or legal ties to the condemned, the victim, or either family.
- The state spent more than $1.2 million renovating the execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise, and purchased five Daniel Defense DD5-P .308-caliber rifles with scopes, suppressors, and bipods at a total cost exceeding $24,000.
- IDOC explored a remote-operated firing system before concluding it was not feasible; Department Director Bree Derrick has stated a preference for law enforcement volunteers over corrections officers to staff the firing squad.
- Idaho has eight prisoners on death row and has not carried out an execution since June 2012; the identities of all firing squad members will be kept strictly confidential by state law, known only to the IDOC director and a deputy director.
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Correction released formal firing squad execution protocols this week outlining the use of volunteer law enforcement officers to carry out death sentences under a state law taking effect July 1, 2026, that makes Idaho the only U.S. state to designate the firing squad as its primary method of execution.
Under the new standard operating procedure, IDOC will recruit six volunteers — three primary shooters and two alternates, plus a team leader — from the ranks of Peace Officer Standards and Training-certified law enforcement. Each volunteer must hold at least three years of continuous POST certification, must not have faced any disciplinary action related to firearms, use of force, or related conduct in the prior year, and must not be related by blood or law to the condemned prisoner, their family, or the family of the victims. Candidates will be required to pass a marksmanship qualification from a minimum distance of seven yards, hitting a target of similar shape and size to the one used in an actual execution. Those who miss are immediately disqualified.
IDOC Director Bree Derrick said the agency deliberately sought law enforcement volunteers over corrections officers to staff the firing squad. The agency explored the possibility of a remote-operated system to carry out executions without requiring personnel to pull the triggers directly, but determined that option was not achievable and proceeded with a human firing squad model. “The Idaho Department of Correction recognizes the gravity of carrying out a court-ordered execution and the responsibility that comes with it,” Derrick said in a statement. “Our procedures are designed to ensure that any execution is conducted in a secure, orderly, and dignified manner.”
Not all in Idaho law enforcement view the assignment as a natural fit. Bonneville County Sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Lovell, president of the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police, said law enforcement officers are not uniquely suited for the role of executing a condemned prisoner compared to corrections personnel, and cautioned against conflating the two. Officers train for the possibility of using deadly force under emergency circumstances to protect themselves and the public, Lovell said — a context fundamentally different from a planned state execution. “You’re talking about the complete opposite end of the spectrum of reasons why deadly force would be used,” he said.
The execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, south of Boise, was retrofitted to accommodate the firing squad method after construction beginning in May 2025 was completed at a cost exceeding $900,000, with an additional $314,000 spent on design and engineering for a total project cost of more than $1.2 million. The state purchased five AR-style Daniel Defense DD5-P .308-caliber rifles, each equipped with a scope, suppressor, and bipod, at approximately $4,844 per unit. During an execution, the three primary shooters will fire from approximately 10 yards at a target affixed to the condemned prisoner’s chest over the heart. Each rifle will be loaded with a single round; the director may order a second volley if the medical team observes continued signs of life on an electrocardiogram. The on-site county coroner will then pronounce the time of death. The condemned will be offered a mild sedative the night before and again within four hours of the execution.
The firing squad team will conduct at least quarterly training sessions, with weekly sessions beginning upon issuance of a death warrant and at least four training sessions and two rehearsals in the two days immediately preceding a scheduled execution. The identities of all team members are protected by state law and may be disclosed only to the IDOC director and a designated deputy director. Idaho is one of 27 states that retain the death penalty and one of five — along with Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah — that authorize firing squad executions. South Carolina carried out three such executions in 2025, the first in the U.S. since Utah did so in June 2010. Idaho has eight prisoners on death row and has not conducted an execution since June 2012. IDOC spokesperson Ryan Mortensen said the department will be prepared to carry out an execution order after July 1.