MOSCOW (Sputnik), Alexander Mosesov — The decision by Utah to introduce firing squad executions will not be followed by other US states, Executive Director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) told Sputnik on Tuesday.
On Monday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a bill making the firing squad the state’s method of execution if drugs for lethal injections are unavailable.
"The future is really moving towards abolishing death penalty and we're not gonna see other states seriously taking it up," Diann Rust-Tierney told Sputnik.
Rust-Tierney added that the Utah governor's decision is "a disappointment" and "a step backwards."
On March 10, the Utah legislature passed a bill by 18-10 allowing executions to be carried out by firing squads if the chemicals used in lethal injection cocktails to kill prisoners are not available.
The bill was introduced in Utah as many US states have struggled to find the chemicals used in lethal cocktails. International pharmaceutical companies are wary of selling the chemicals for fear of being held legally liable while companies in the EU have been prohibited from exporting the main ingredients used in the injection cocktails.
