1. United States
2. Letter

I urge you to oppose House Bill 1119 and speak out forcefully to your colleagues about rejecting this legislation. This bill would authorize firing squad and nitrogen hypoxia as execution methods in Indiana. It passed the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee on January 21, 2026 by an 8-5 vote and now moves to the full House chamber. The Senate version faces a Monday deadline for approval. The timing of this legislation is particularly disturbing. At a moment when our nation faces unprecedented challenges, we should not be legalizing methods that evoke the darkest chapters of human history. The bill would allow the Indiana Department of Correction to suffocate human beings with nitrogen gas. Indiana law prohibits euthanizing animals with gas because it is considered inhumane, yet this bill would authorize it for people. Proponents claim drug availability necessitates this change, but the facts contradict that argument. Zach Stock from the Indiana Public Defender Council noted that 47 executions were conducted nationally in 2025, with 80% using lethal injection. Indiana itself executed three men in 2024 after switching to pentobarbital. The drug availability problem is overstated. The bill's provisions are shocking. It would authorize three individuals selected by the warden to fire live ammunition at a condemned person. Roarke LaCoursiere, speaking for Indiana's Catholic bishops, rightly noted that the imagery of gas chambers and firing squads highlights the brutality the death penalty represents. No one testified in support of this legislation at the committee hearing. The Indiana Catholic Conference, ACLU of Indiana, and Indiana Public Defender Council all opposed it. I ask you to vote no on House Bill 1119 and to actively encourage your colleagues to reject this bill. This is not who we are as a state or as a nation.