Death by firing squad could become Idaho’s primary method of execution under a bill headed to the governor’s desk this week.

I view the firing squad as a more humane way to carry out executions for those on death row, because it is quick and certain,” said bill sponsor Sen. Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg.

State senators passed the bill after a short debate Wednesday, with one Republican joining six Democrats in opposing it. Right now, the firing squad is Idaho's secondary method of execution if state corrections officials can't obtain drugs to carry out a lethal injection.

South Carolina is preparing this week to execute a man by firing squad, a capital punishment method that hasn’t been used in the U.S. in nearly 15 years. Since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976,

A bill that would make the firing squad Idaho's primary form of execution has passed the Senate.The firing squad is already a legal form of execution in Idaho,

Brad Little vetoes a bill that passed the Idaho Legislature, Idaho could become the only state to fatally shoot death row inmates as its main execution method. If passed into law, House Bill 37 would make the firing squad the primary death penalty method in Idaho.