Boise, Idaho - Idaho's legislature has sent a bill to Governor Brad Little's desk that could make firing squads the primary method of execution in the state.

The Idaho Senate passed House Bill 37 in a 28-7 vote on Wednesday, with just one Republican joining Democrats in opposition.

Already approved by the House, the bill now heads to Republican Governor Little's desk.

The legislation was introduced after the failed attempt to execute Thomas Creech last year, when corrections staff repeatedly failed to find a vein for his lethal injection.

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Since 2023, firing squads have been authorized in Idaho as a secondary execution method if lethal injection drugs are unavailable.

Four other states – Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah – have green lit firing squads, but Idaho would be the first to make it the primary execution method.

The planned execution of Brad Sigmon by firing squad in South Carolina on Friday is expected to be the first use of the method in the US in 15 years.

Idaho Senator Dan Foreman – a retired police officer and the only Senate Republican to oppose the bill – said he believes the state "is on the verge of making a big mistake," Boise State Public Radio News reported.

"Projecting a piece of metal at 3,200 feet per second, give or take, through the human body is anything but humane," Foreman continued. "I can say that because I’ve seen it. I wished I hadn’t seen it."

If signed into law, Idaho's new firing squad bill would take effect on July 1, 2026.