A firing squad execution works like this: the condemned person is strapped into a heavy metal chair, hooded, and marked with a small target over the heart, and a team of three to five volunteer shooters fires rifles simultaneously from behind a wall about 15 to 25 feet away. The rounds are aimed to destroy the heart, and a physician examines the body afterward to confirm death, which is typically declared within a few minutes. Five states currently authorize the method — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah — and it returned to active use in March 2025 when South Carolina carried out the first U.S. firing squad execution in 15 years.
The Chamber and the Chair
The condemned person is seated in a heavy metal chair with restraints at the ankles, legs, chest, arms, and sometimes the head. The straps exist for a specific reason: any movement can shift the heart out of the target zone, and accuracy is what determines how quickly the person loses consciousness. A hood is placed over the head. A medical professional then positions a small target directly over the heart to guide the shooters’ aim.
The chair sits in front of a bullet-stopping backdrop. Utah has historically used an oval canvas wall with sandbags stacked behind it to absorb impact and prevent ricochets. The shooters stand behind a separate wall with narrow rectangular openings cut at chest height. In Utah, the distance from wall to chair is about 25 feet. South Carolina places its shooters roughly 15 feet from the chair. Bullet-resistant glass separates the witness area from the chamber itself.
Who Pulls the Triggers
The composition of the squad varies by state. Utah uses five volunteer peace officers who hold POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) certification, meaning they are licensed law enforcement officers rather than prison staff or military personnel.1Washington and Lee University School of Law Scholarly Commons. When Police Volunteer to Kill South Carolina uses three volunteer prison employees.
Every shooter’s identity is kept confidential. Volunteers typically enter and leave the facility through separate entrances, and their names never appear in public records. The anonymity is meant to shield individual shooters from being publicly identified as the person who killed the condemned.
The Blank Round
Utah’s protocol loads one of the five rifles with a blank cartridge, and no shooter is told which weapon holds it. The idea is that each member can believe they may not have fired a lethal round. In practice, an experienced shooter can feel the difference between the recoil of a live round and a blank, so the comfort is partly psychological. South Carolina abandoned the tradition. All three of its rifles are loaded with live ammunition, and every shooter knows with certainty that they fired a killing shot.1Washington and Lee University School of Law Scholarly Commons. When Police Volunteer to Kill
The Moments Before the Shots
Before the shooting begins, the warden confirms there are no last-minute legal stays or clemency orders. The condemned person is typically offered a chance to make a final statement, though the rules vary. Some states impose a two-minute limit, others allow only a brief statement at the warden’s discretion, and at least one state permits only a written statement read after death. If the warden decides a spoken statement has become offensive to witnesses, it can be cut short.
Once the statement is complete and the warden gives the order, the squad fires simultaneously. All rounds are aimed at the heart.
The Ammunition and the Damage It Does
The bullets are engineered to cause catastrophic damage to cardiac tissue. South Carolina uses .308-caliber Winchester 110-grain TAP Urban rounds, designed to fragment on impact with the rib cage so that shrapnel spreads through the heart. Utah has historically used .30-caliber Winchester rifles loaded with steel-jacketed rounds.
Medical testimony describes the initial physical sensation of being shot as closer to a hard punch than sharp pain. Pain itself follows seconds later. Whether the condemned person experiences that pain depends on how quickly consciousness fades, which depends on how thoroughly the heart is destroyed.
How Fast Death Actually Comes
The speed of death is central to the legal and ethical debate over the method, and this is where clinical predictions and observed executions have diverged. State experts have testified that with a well-placed volley the condemned person should lose consciousness almost immediately and likely feel no pain. Medical testimony in South Carolina’s 2022 trial put the expected time to unconsciousness at roughly 15 seconds.
Real executions have taken longer. In one 2025 South Carolina execution, witnesses reported the condemned man groaning approximately 45 seconds after the shots, with breathing continuing for about 75 to 80 seconds before a final gasp. A doctor then examined him for over a minute, and death was formally declared less than four minutes after the shots were fired. Medical experts reviewing the case estimated the person remained conscious for 30 to 60 seconds — two to four times longer than predicted — likely because at least one round missed the heart. A damaged heart can continue pumping enough blood to sustain brief consciousness, which is why shot placement matters as much as it does.
Confirming Death
A physician is present at every execution to examine the body and confirm death. The American Medical Association’s ethics code prohibits doctors from participating in executions, defining participation as any action that directly causes death or could automatically trigger it. Confirming death after someone else has already declared the person dead does not violate those guidelines.2AMA-Code. Capital Punishment In practice, the warden or another official announces that the execution has been carried out, and the physician then performs the medical examination.
Who Is in the Room
State protocols designate several categories of witnesses. These typically include the victim’s family, the condemned person’s family or designated individuals, the inmate’s attorney, a spiritual advisor, corrections officials, and members of the media. The Supreme Court has held that condemned inmates have a right to a spiritual advisor in the chamber who can pray aloud and make physical contact during the process.
Media access varies. Some states allow as many as a dozen journalists to attend. Others grant access to just two or three, and a few leave it to the corrections department’s discretion. Designated outlets often select the reporters who attend, and those reporters serve as a press pool for outlets that were not present.
Is It Legal
Yes. The Supreme Court first addressed the constitutionality of execution by firing squad in 1879, in a case involving a Utah murder conviction, and held that death by shooting did not qualify as cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.3Library of Congress. Wilkerson v. Utah, 99 U.S. 130 (1879)
Modern Eighth Amendment challenges face a steep burden. The Court has established that a prisoner challenging any execution method must identify a known, available alternative that would significantly reduce the risk of severe pain. Arguing that a method is painful is not enough; the challenger must also show that the state’s chosen method poses a substantial risk of serious harm compared to that alternative.4Cornell Law School. Limitations on Imposition of the Death Penalty – Methods of Executions That standard has made it difficult to overturn any execution method in federal court, and it is one reason firing squads have survived constitutional scrutiny.5LII / Legal Information Institute. Bucklew v. Precythe