South Carolina lawmakers vote to allow execution by firing squad

Governor Henry McMaster says he will sign bill that officials argued was necessary because of shortage of lethal injection drugs

South Carolina state lawmakers have voted to allow firing squads to be implemented as a method of capital punishment in the state.

The Republican governor, Henry McMaster, has said he will approve the bill when it arrives at his desk, making South Carolina only the fourth state in the US that allows death by firing squad. Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah already allow the execution method, according to the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center.