LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A lawmaker whose 12-year-old daughter was murdered by a man now on death row said Thursday that she will work to make the firing squad a legal execution method in Arkansas because court challenges have stalled efforts to resume the death penalty using lethal injections.
Republican Rep. Rebecca Petty of Rogers said she was spurred to introduce a proposal aimed at resuming executions after a state Senate committee on Wednesday advanced a bill to eliminate the death penalty as a sentencing option in capital murder cases. That bill to eliminate the death penalty is unlikely to clear the GOP-dominated Senate or House.
"It felt like a slap in the face," she said of the legislative action to eliminate the death penalty.
The death penalty is legal in Arkansas and there are 32 inmates on death row. But the state hasn't executed anyone since 2005 due to ongoing legal challenges over lethal injection protocol. Capital punishment is authorized in 32 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Similar bills to allow firing squad executions are being considered by the Utah and Wyoming Legislatures and Oklahoma lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow that state to use nitrogen gas to execute inmates. Petty said she will look at what is working in other states to help fill in the details of her legislation.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson last week signed into law a separate bill from Petty that lets family members of murder victims witness executions in-person. The bill was named "Andi's Law," after her 12-year-old daughter, who was killed in 1999.
That bill was supported 95-0 in the House and 34-0 in the Senate.
Petty, a freshman legislator, is hopeful the support for execution viewings translates to support for restarting them. She said lengthy legal processes and delays keeps family members of victims in limbo and that they deserve closure.
"It's very difficult to live through appeals after appeals after appeals and it's not right," Petty said.
Even if the change is embraced by the Republican legislature, it could face hurdles at the executive level. Both Hutchinson and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge indicated they support the approved method of lethal injection.
"In my view, the most timely opportunity to carry out the death penalty will be by focusing on the legislative mandate for lethal injection in a manner that is acceptable to the courts," Hutchison said in an email Thursday.
Rutledge campaigned last year on restarting the death penalty and defeated an opponent who wanted to bring back the electric chair. She didn't comment on the firing squad proposal, but spokesman Judd Deere said her preferred method is lethal injection.
"The Attorney General is committed to working with the Assembly to strengthen Arkansas' death penalty laws," Deere said.
Tony Pirani, president of the Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, opposes execution regardless of method, but said firing squads would be a step backward for the state.
"I don't think that's the direction that Arkansans are looking to go on this," Pirani said.