Reference · Jurisdictions
FS-2026-ID-0001
Where the rifle
is legal.
State statutes, civilian federal law, and military justice are distinct systems. Hasan’s scheduled execution at Fort Hood is a U.S. military case, not authorization for Texas state executions.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Statutory basis / detail |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | Primary | First U.S. state to make the firing squad the primary method. Effective July 1, 2026 (HB 37). |
| Utah | Choice | Available to prisoners sentenced before May 3, 2004. Also a backup when lethal injection drugs are unavailable (2015 amendment). |
| South Carolina | Choice | Reinstated May 2021. Prisoners may elect firing squad, electric chair, or lethal injection. |
| Oklahoma | Backup | Available if both lethal injection and nitrogen hypoxia are unavailable. |
| Mississippi | Backup | Available alongside gas and electrocution as contingency methods. |
| Florida | Proposed | SB 1082 (2026 session): would authorize firing squad as an alternative on prisoner request. Status: pending committee. |
| Tennessee | Proposed | HB 1663 (2025) authorizing firing squad as backup; died in committee. Reintroduction expected 2026. |
| Arkansas | Proposed | SB 298 (2025) authorizing firing squad; failed to advance from Judiciary. |
| Louisiana | Proposed | Discussed in Governor Landry's 2026 execution-methods working group. |
| U.S. Federal | Historical | Federal civilian execution law is separate from military justice. Hasan’s Army warrant is not a civilian federal execution. |
| U.S. Military | Scheduled | Trump approved Hasan’s sentence Oct. 2, 2026. Army scheduled a firing squad for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood; execution not yet carried out, livestream proposed. Military jurisdiction, not Texas state law. |
Twenty-three states, in the order they ended it
The date is the year the penalty stopped being enforceable; where the statute came off the books later, that is in the note.
- 01Michigan1846Effective March 1847. First English-speaking government in the world to abolish. Written into the state constitution in 1963.
- 02Wisconsin1853
- 03Maine1887Abolished in 1876, reinstated in 1883, abolished again for good in 1887.
- 04Minnesota1911
- 05Alaska1957By the territorial legislature before statehood.
- 06Hawaii1957Also as a territory.
- 07Iowa1965Had abolished once before, in 1872, and brought it back in 1878.
- 08West Virginia1965
- 09Vermont1965Narrowed in 1965 to a handful of crimes, nothing in force after Furman in 1972, last statute repealed in 1987.
- 10North Dakota1973Narrowed in 1915 to treason and murder by a prisoner serving life; fully repealed in 1973.
- 11Massachusetts1984The Supreme Judicial Court struck the statute in Colon-Cruz. The legislature has never rebuilt it.
- 12Rhode Island1984Legislative repeal after the state court struck the statute in 1979.
- 13New York2004Court of Appeals in People v. LaValle; the legislature declined to repair the statute in 2007.
- 14New Jersey2007December 2007, Gov. Jon Corzine. First legislative repeal of the modern era.
- 15New Mexico2009March 2009, Gov. Bill Richardson. Prospective only; the last two men on the row were resentenced by the state supreme court in 2019.
- 16Illinois2011March 2011, Gov. Pat Quinn, after the Ryan commutations of 2003.
- 17Connecticut2012April 2012, Gov. Dannel Malloy, prospective; the state supreme court applied it to the eleven men still on the row in 2015.
- 18Maryland2013May 2013, Gov. Martin O'Malley, who commuted the remaining four in 2015.
- 19Delaware2016August 2016, state supreme court in Rauf v. State (statute repealed September 2024).
- 20Washington2018October 2018, state supreme court in State v. Gregory, on grounds of arbitrary and racially discriminatory application (statute repealed 2023).
- 21New Hampshire2019May 2019, legislature overrode Gov. Chris Sununu's veto. Prospective; one man remains under sentence.
- 22Colorado2020March 2020, Gov. Jared Polis, who commuted the three men on the row the same day.
- 23Virginia2021March 2021, Gov. Ralph Northam, signed at Greensville where the state had carried out 101 executions. First Southern state.
The District of Columbia abolished in 1981.
Not on the list, and worth keeping straight: Oregon (moratorium since 2011, every sentence commuted by Gov. Kate Brown in December 2022, statute still on the books), Pennsylvania (moratorium since 2015) and California (moratorium since 2019) have stopped executing without abolishing. Ohio has not executed since 2018 because Gov. Mike DeWine keeps issuing reprieves. Nebraska repealed in 2015 and voters restored it in 2016. Kansas had repeal bills carried into its 2026 session; nothing has passed.