Mississippi Considering Firing Squad, Gas, Electrocution Executions

Mississippi lawmakers are advancing a proposal to add firing squad, electrocution and gas chamber as execution methods in case a court blocks the use of lethal injection drugs.

House Bill 638 is a response to lawsuits filed by "liberal, left-wing radicals," said House Judiciary B Committee Chairman Andy Gipson, a Republican.

The bill passed the House amid opposition Wednesday, and it moves to the Senate for more debate, the Associated Press reports.

Mississippi hasn't been able to acquire the lethal injection execution drugs it once used, and it last carried out an execution in 2012. The state has 47 people on death row , and some have been there for decades