(WESTVILLE) - Indiana's new correctional facility in Westville is being built to accommodate firing squad executions, even though that method is not currently allowed under Indiana law.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reports the Indiana Department of Correction confirmed the new Westville Correctional Facility is designed to accommodate both lethal injection and firing squad executions.
Indiana law currently allows only lethal injection.
A DOC spokesperson declined to provide more details about the facility or its design, citing security concerns and non-public prison blueprints.
The revelation comes as Indiana lawmakers and state officials continue debating whether to expand the state's execution methods. A proposal to authorize firing squads alongside lethal injection failed during the most recent legislative session, but lawmakers are expected to revisit the issue in January.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reports federal officials are also reviewing execution policies. The Trump administration earlier this year adopted firing squads as an authorized federal execution method and directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to study whether federal executions should remain centered in Indiana or expand to another state that already allows additional methods.
Federal executions are carried out at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute.
Indiana could also face another execution under its current lethal injection protocol. Attorney General Todd Rokita is awaiting a decision from the Indiana Supreme Court on his request to set an execution date for death row inmate Jeffrey Weisheit, who was convicted in the 2010 killings of two Vanderburgh County children.
If an execution date is granted, the Department of Correction says the execution would be carried out by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reports newly released DOC records show Indiana currently has no pentobarbital or other execution drugs. Pentobarbital was used in the state's three most recent executions.
Gov. Mike Braun said Thursday he remains confident Indiana can obtain the drug if another execution is scheduled, but he acknowledged the process is difficult and expensive.
Indiana resumed executions in December 2024 with the execution of Joseph Corcoran. The state later executed Benjamin Ritchie in May 2025 and Roy Lee Ward in October 2025.
Five inmates, including Weisheit, remain on Indiana's death row. Four are currently considered competent for execution.