Arkansas lawmaker plans to file firing squad legislation

LITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas lawmaker whose daughter was murdered by a man now on death row said Thursday that she will file a bill legalizing firing squads after a Senate committee passed a bill to ban capital punishment.

Republican Rep. Rebecca Petty of Rogers said she plans to introduce a bill this week instructing the state to consider other execution methods, including firing squads. Arkansas has 32 inmates on death row, but hasn't executed anyone since 2005 due to ongoing legal challenges over lethal injection protocol.

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 overwhelmingly supported in both chambers.

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