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
Lethal injection, electrocution, and firing squads are among the execution methods used in the U.S. since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976. Lethal injection has been the most common method, with 1,428 executions carried out since 1976, though it has faced challenges such as drug shortages and complications during executions. Electrocution has been used in nine states, with the last execution by this method occurring in 2020. Lethal gas, authorized in eight states, saw its last use in 2024 when Alabama executed Kenneth Eugene Smith using nitrogen gas. Firing squads, rarely used in modern times, have been authorized in five states, with the last execution by this method in Utah in 2010. South Carolina is preparing to use a firing squad this week, marking a resurgence of older execution methods amid issues with lethal injection. Hanging, once the primary method, has been used in only a few cases since 1976, though New Hampshire retains it as a backup method if lethal injection is unavailable.
