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FLORIDA - Florida may soon expand its approved methods of execution to include firing squads and nitrogen gas, following a wave of national changes and growing legal challenges tied to lethal injection.
A new bill moving through the Florida House, HB 903, proposes altering existing law to allow execution methods beyond electrocution and lethal injection, as long as they’re not deemed unconstitutional.
While the legislation doesn’t explicitly mention firing squads or nitrogen gas, the vague language could pave the way for their use.
A similar bill in the state Senate, SB 1604, echoes these provisions but adds restrictions against “cruel and unusual” punishment.
The proposed changes come on the heels of a high-profile execution in South Carolina, where Brad Keith Sigmon was put to death by firing squad in March 2025.
He became the first person in the U.S. to be executed by that method since 2010.
Sigmon, convicted of a 2001 double homicide, reportedly chose the firing squad over concerns about suffering from lethal injection or the electric chair.
Several states have shifted toward alternatives due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs.
Alabama and Louisiana recently carried out executions using nitrogen hypoxia, which involves suffocating inmates with pure nitrogen gas—a method some officials call humane but which has also sparked intense debate over its visible physical effects.
Florida, which has executed over 100 inmates since 1976, currently houses 275 death row inmates.
The proposed legislation signals that the state could soon follow others in adopting controversial alternatives to its existing methods.