Lethal injections are in short supply and doubts about their cruelty have been arising. In response, lawmakers in some states are bringing back old forms of execution.

Last month, an Ohio inmate took 26 minutes to die by lethal injection, and he was gasping as he died. An Oklahoma inmate’s final words expressed the pain that he was feeling and sensations of burning, showing that promises of painless death may not be assured.

Before, propofol was the drug used for lethal injections, but, because the European Union threatened to stop exporting propofol if it was used to kill, Missouri switched to pentobarbital. Propofol is a common choice because only one injection is needed, whereas pentobarbital requires more than one.

Forms of execution that are being brought back include firing squads, gas chambers, electrocutions, and hangings. These methods were previously abandoned because the judicial system was worried that the executions were cruel and infringed on the protections in the Bill of Rights against cruel and unusual punishment.

Senior Cici Cao said, “I feel [the death sentence] should be used if the act is some sort of terrorism, because killing many innocent people, especially those who are not specifically targeted, is such an unforgivable act, and a death sentence for this kind of act will bring justice to those who lost their lives.”

Other states have eliminated the death sentence completely. The main reason is that there are many cases tied up in court. Florida allows inmates to chose electrocution or lethal injection.

Freshman Lauren Lawless felt, “The death sentence is not humane. I think all forms of execution are equally bad.”

In Wyoming, a lawmaker last month introduced a bill allowing the firing squad as a form of execution. A Virginian lawmaker wants to add electrocution. Missouri’s attorney general wants to rebuild the state’s gas chamber.

“I believe the worst form of execution is the electric chair because the prisoner doesn’t face immediate death. It usually takes a minute to die from an electric chair, where as other methods of execution are more immediate,” said sophomore Sarah Phillips. The Seminole‘s research shows that “Old Sparky,” Florida’s electric chair, left one inmate alive for moments after the electrocution and one inmate even had a fire spark on his face.

Prisoners who have the death sentence can choose the electric chair in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Gas chamber executions are available in Missouri and Wyoming. Delaware, New Hampshire, and Washington allow hanging as an option for the death penalty.

Execution is a touchy subject, and states are handling it in different ways. Finding an inexpensive but moral way to execute prisoners is something that prisons are looking for.