Capital Punishment: US Justice Department Moves to Expand Federal Execution Methods
The US Justice Department said on Friday it is taking steps to strengthen capital punishment at the federal level, including bringing back firing squads and returning to a lethal injection protocol used during Donald Trump’s first term. The move is aimed at clearing the way for executions once death-sentenced inmates have finished appeals, while reversing Biden-era restrictions. The department also said it has authorized seeking death sentences against 44 defendants.
What the Justice Department announced
The department said its actions include readopting the lethal injection protocol used in the first Trump administration, which relies on pentobarbital as the lethal agent. It also said it is expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution, including the firing squad.
Officials added that the department is streamlining internal processes to speed up death penalty cases and has rescinded the Biden-era moratorium on federal executions. Todd Blanche, the acting US attorney general, had already authorized seeking death sentences against nine of the 44 defendants named in the announcement.
Capital Punishment and the federal shift
The policy push follows an executive order Trump signed shortly after taking office last January, directing the administration to pursue federal death sentences and ensure states have enough lethal injection drugs for executions. The Justice Department said on Friday that it has taken sustained action since then to carry out that directive and reverse Biden-era efforts to weaken the death penalty.
Federal executions have been on hold since 2021, when then-attorney general Merrick Garland imposed a moratorium under the Biden presidency while the department reviewed its policies and procedures. During Trump’s first term, the federal government also resumed executions after a nearly 20-year pause.
Immediate reactions and legal context
In its statement, the department said it was restoring its duty to seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the federal death penalty had been rendered “a dead letter, ” and added: “This changed when Donald Trump became President. ”
At the same time, the issue remains deeply contested. The Eighth Amendment bars cruel and unusual punishments, while the department maintains that execution by gunfire, electrocution, and lethal gas are legally acceptable. The policy also directs the Federal Bureau of Prisons to consider expanding federal death row and building an additional facility to allow more execution methods.
Quick context and what comes next
At the state level, five states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah — allow firing squad executions in certain circumstances. Public support for capital punishment has also declined over time, even as executions have risen to their highest level in 16 years.
In the coming weeks, the department said it plans to consider a rule to streamline federal habeas review of capital cases and to propose a rule prohibiting capital inmates from submitting clemency petitions. More changes to federal capital punishment policy may follow if those steps advance.
