FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2015, file photo, shows the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City. Utah became the only state to allow firing squads for executions Monday, March 23, 2015, when Gov. Gary Herbert signed a law approving the controversial method's use when no lethal-injection drugs are available. Herbert has said he finds the firing squad "a little bit gruesome," but Utah is a capital punishment state and needs a backup execution method in case a shortage of the drugs persists. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) (The Associated Press)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah lawmakers and Gov. Gary Herbert say they took a pragmatic approach in approving the firing squad as a form of execution if lethal injection drugs aren't available, but critics say bringing it back could hurt the state's image with out-of-state and international visitors.
Tourism brought in a record $7.5 billion in spending to the state in 2013, but a firing squad execution brings a flurry of a different kind of attention.
David Corsun at the University of Denver says that could make it harder to lure lucrative conventions to the state because large associations are often leery of controversy.
But Utah state tourism director Vicki Varela doesn't expect it to be a problem. She says the executions are rare and the possibility that the state will have to go to its backup is remote.
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