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Friendly Fire: The JD Vance Debate, Midterm Madness & Return of the Firing Squad
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Idaho's Firing Squad: Capital Punishment, Humane Execution, and State Rights
At 1:08:55 · chapter starts 1:06:00
The final substantive segment turns to Idaho becoming the first US state to formally adopt the firing squad as a method of execution. Michael Knowles opens with characteristic directness: if he were ever convicted of a capital offense — which he insists is not a hypothetical setup — he would want to go out blindfolded with a cigarette, shot standing up by a firing squad. Theo Wold provides the policy and legal context. [1] — Theo Wold "Abolitionist activists cut off the drug supply for lethal injection — so Idaho reversed course and went back to the firing squad. The resul…" 1:07:40 Abolitionist activists have spent years cutting off states' access to the drugs needed for the three-drug lethal injection compound, effectively short-circuiting capital punishment through a supply embargo rather than through the democratic or judicial process. Idaho's response was not to abandon capital punishment but to revert to a method that remains constitutional under the Eighth Amendment. [2] — Theo Wold "The average firing squad, formalized medical death occurs in seconds as opposed to 8, 9, 10 minutes in the few lethal injections that actua…" 1:08:55 The firing squad, Wold explains, causes medically confirmed death in seconds compared to 8-10 minutes for lethal injection — and it requires no health professionals to violate the Hippocratic oath. He notes that many death-row defendants across the country actually prefer the firing squad for these reasons. Knowles endorses the approach broadly: if you're going to have capital punishment, the firing squad is the most humane and constitutionally grounded option. Wold frames the deeper issue as Idaho simply refusing to let activist supply embargoes nullify the legal choices of its voters.
The executive order approach was always a gamble — and the Supreme Court called the bluff. Theo Wold explains that because the Court issued a constitutional ruling rather than a statutory one, most congressional options are now foreclosed. Fixing birthright citizenship will require a constitutional amendment.
Theo Wold noted the British fundamentally changed their notion of citizenship three times since WWII — in 1948, 1981, and the mid-1990s — while Roberts cited 15th-century English common law.
Abolitionist activists cut off the drug supply for lethal injection — so Idaho reversed course and went back to the firing squad. The result? Death in seconds versus 8-10 agonizing minutes. Theo Wold argues it's not barbaric; it's the most humane option available and there's no Hippocratic oath violation in sight.
Theo Wold argued the firing squad is more humane than lethal injection, causing medically confirmed death in seconds compared to 8-10 minutes for lethal injection when administered correctly.
