House passes bill to allow firing squads in executions

The House passed a bill that could lead to the death penalty being carried out by nitrogen gas, firing squad or electrocution.

The execution alternative methods in House Bill 638 would only come into play if Mississippi's lethal injection protocol is ruled unconstitutional. Then each of the other methods would be successive if one is ruled unconstitutional.

House Judiciary B Chairman Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, said the bill has the support of Gov. Phil Bryant and Attorney General Jim Hood.

"I have a constituent whose daughter was raped and killed 25 years ago and the person is still awaiting execution," Gipson said. "If we want to have the death penalty, this bill will give us options."

RELATED: Bill: Execution by gas, firing squad would be allowed

Gipson said firing squads have been used in some states. He said electrocution and gas have been used previously in Mississippi.

Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, asked Gipson, who is a Baptist minister, what the Bible says about grace and mercy and whether he believes in grace and mercy.

"I'm a big believer in mercy and grace," Gipson said. "Unfortunately, the death penalty is necessary for those who commit atrocious crimes."

Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, said a lot of people sentenced to death have been found to be innocent.

The bill says if the current method of execution is held unconstitutional by a court or is otherwise unavailable, then the sentence of death shall be carried out by nitrogen hypoxia.

If lethal injection and nitrogen hypoxia are ruled unconstitutional or are unavailable, then the sentence of death would be carried out by firing squad.

Then, if the other above methods are ruled unconstitutional or for some reason are unavailable, the final method of carrying out an execution would be done by electrocution.

Hood said his support for the bill is to remove the language that a certain protocol has to be used to carry out lethal injections.

Since Mississippi joined the union in 1817, several forms of execution have been used. Hanging was the first, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The state continued to execute prisoners sentenced to die by hanging until Oct. 11, 1940, when Hilton Fortenberry, convicted of capital murder in Jefferson Davis County, became the first prisoner to be executed in the electric chair. Between 1940 and Feb. 5, 1952, the old oak electric chair was moved from county to county to conduct executions. During the 12-year span, 75 prisoners were executed in the Magnolia State for offenses punishable by death.

In 1954, the gas chamber was installed at the State Penitentiary at Parchman, according to MDOC. It replaced the electric chair, which is on display at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy. Gearald A. Gallego became the first prisoner to be executed by lethal gas on March 3, 1955. During the course of the next 34 years, 35 death row inmates were executed in the gas chamber. On June 21, 1989, Leo Edwards became the last person to be executed in the gas chamber at thePenitentiary. On July 1, 1984, the Mississippi Legislature partially amended lethal gas as the state's form of execution. The amendment provided that individuals who committed capital punishment crimes after the effective date of the new law and who were subsequently sentenced to death would be executed by lethal injection. On March 18, 1998, the Legislature amended the manner of execution by removing the lethal gas provision as the alternate form of execution. Since 2002, 17 death row inmates have died by lethal injection.

The last time Mississippi executed a death row inmate was 2012. Since then, a federal lawsuit over the drug protocol used in executions, combined with motions before the state Supreme Court, have left a question mark as to when the next execution might occur. Forty-seven inmates remain on death row.

Contact Jimmie E. Gates at 601-961-7212 or jgates@gannett.com . Follow him on Facebook and Twitter