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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana Senate Bill 11 authorizes firing squad executions for death row inmates upon request or drug shortage
Last action · December 8, 2025: Senator Byrne added as coauthorSponsors: Michael Young and 3 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Indiana Senate Bill 11 authorizes the Department of Correction to carry out executions by a five-person firing squad if lethal injection drugs are unavailable or if the condemned person requests it at least 30 days before the scheduled date. The measure establishes operational protocols for the firing squad, requires the state prison to prepare a dedicated room, and classifies the identities of squad members and drug suppliers as confidential.
The bill introduces an alternative execution method for death row inmates and creates new confidentiality rules surrounding the identities of execution personnel, department contractors, and drug suppliers.
- Indiana law currently mandates that capital punishment be carried out by intravenous lethal injection. context
- Several states have authorized alternative execution methods such as nitrogen hypoxia, electrocution, or firing squads due to difficulties in acquiring lethal injection drugs. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Condemned persons
Condemned persons are given the option to request execution by firing squad and may be subject to execution by firing squad if lethal injection drugs are unavailable.
Department of Correction
The department is tasked with establishing a room and protocol for firing squad executions, selecting squad members, and maintaining confidentiality of participating personnel and suppliers.
Victim's immediate family
Immediate family members are subject to attendance caps at executions and are provided access to a support room upon request.
Key Facts
- Executions by firing squad are authorized if the Department of Correction determines at least 30 days before the execution date that required lethal injection drugs are unavailable, or if the condemned person requests a firing squad at least 30 days in advance.
- The firing squad consists of five Department of Correction officers selected by the state prison warden, with four firearms loaded with live ammunition and one with a blank in a manner that conceals which firearm contains live rounds.
- The identities of firing squad members, designated eligible members, and individuals who assist the warden are classified as confidential, exempt from discovery, and inadmissible in civil or criminal proceedings.
- The Department of Correction must establish a dedicated room and protocol at the state prison for firing squad executions.
Show all 7 facts
- The identities of entities contracting with the department to issue or compound lethal substances for lethal injection, along with their employees and contractors, are confidential and retroactive to any discovery request.
- The issuance or compounding of lethal substances for lethal injection by pharmacists, pharmacies, or wholesale distributors does not constitute the practice of pharmacy and is exempt from state licensing board oversight.
- A maximum of eight immediate family members of victims may be present at an execution, and the department must establish a support room for unselected family members upon request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Under what conditions can a firing squad be used for an execution?
Who serves on the firing squad?
Are the identities of the firing squad members public record?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
5 actions- Dec 8, 2025SenateSenator Byrne added as coauthor
- Dec 8, 2025SenateSenator Tomes added as third author
- Dec 8, 2025SenateSenator Garten added as second author
- Dec 8, 2025SenateIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law
- Dec 8, 2025SenateAuthored by Senator Young M
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of State Execution Methods
The legislation expands the state's execution capabilities beyond lethal injection by codifying firing squad protocols and establishing confidentiality protections for suppliers and personnel.
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy85Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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