Utah set to bring back death sentence by firing squad

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah — the only state in the past 40 years to carry out a death sentence by firing squad — is poised to bring back the Old West-style executions if the state cannot track down drugs used in lethal injections.

The Republican-controlled state Legislature gave final approval to the proposal Tuesday night, with lawmakers billing it as a backup plan as states struggle to find execution drugs amid a nationwide shortage.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, has declined to say if he'll approve or veto the bill, a decision that's not expected to come for a week or so.

If he approves the measure, Utah would become the only state to allow an execution by firing squads if there's a drug shortage.

The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Paul Ray of Clearfield, said it will give the state options. "We would love to get the lethal injection worked out so we can continue with that. But if not, now we have a backup plan," Ray told The Associated Press.

Utah is one of several states to seek out new forms of capital punishment after a botched lethal injection in Oklahoma last year and one in Arizona that took nearly two hours for the condemned man to die.