Mississippi is considering bringing back the firing squad for state executions because opponents of lethal injection, the state’s only mode of execution, say the method is cruel and unusual punishment and in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Lawmakers are also proposing the electric chair and gas chamber through House Bill 628 which is a measure introduced to quell the controversy surrounding lethal injection. According to The Christian Science Monitor, several lawsuits have been filed in the state citing the constitutional violation of death row inmates who suffer “minutes of agony” while their bodies process the chemical cocktail. 

However, this bill isn’t sitting well with opponents who view bringing back the days of a firing squad as an unintended consequence. That method was panned as “barbaric” long ago and lethal injection became the preferred “humane” method, even by Ronald Reagan as the CSM notes. But more and more chemical executions are being botched which is causing states like Georgia and Ohio to temporarily halt executions. Washington state wants to repeal its death penalty because of ethical concerns.

Mississippi, on the other hand, wants victim’s families to get the justice they deserve and are modeling the law after Utah, which reintroduced the firing squad two years ago. Many believe it will return as a common method of execution.

“There’s a concession that there’s a problem with lethal injection so states are going back to methods that seemed barbaric at one point but, relative to lethal injection, maybe don’t look as bad anymore,” said Deborah Denno, a law professor at Fordham University. 

Speaking to the CSM in 2015, Denno said, “People say firing squad is so brutal, but, at least as far as we know, it’s probably the most humane, it kills people the quickest, and it’s one we have expertise for.”

That would be just fine for Mississippi state Rep. Andy Gipson (R) who recently said, “I have a constituent whose daughter was raped and killed by a serial killer over 25 years ago and that person's still waiting for the death penalty. The family is still waiting for justice.”