Utah's Firing Squads Bill Complicates Death Penalty Issue in US - NGO Chief

The US state of Utah's introduction of firing squad executions as a backup for lethal injections only complicates the death penalty issue in the country, Executive Director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Alexander Mosesov – 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 states that are continuing to execute people and trying to find new ways of killing people are making it more complicated that it used to be," Diann Rust-Tierney told Sputnik in relation to the Utah governor's decision.

Rust-Tierney also noted that the United States does not need capital punishment at all and it is "losing support for a reason."

On March 10, the legislature of Utah passed a bill allowing executions to be carried out by firing squads if 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.