On Friday, the Justice Department unveiled plans to incorporate firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation as alternative execution methods for those convicted of serious federal crimes. This decision stems from ongoing challenges in sourcing drugs necessary for lethal injections.
The proposal aligns with a broader initiative to resume capital punishment at the federal level, a commitment made by the Trump administration. During his first term, which concluded in 2021, Trump reinstated federal executions after a two-decade hiatus, overseeing 13 lethal injections in his final months.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who released the report, has initiated death penalty proceedings against nine individuals following Trump’s reversal of a moratorium on federal executions established by former President Joe Biden. The department confirmed this development.
“Actions taken include reinstating the lethal injection protocol from the first Trump Administration, expanding it to encompass additional execution methods like firing squads, and streamlining internal processes to hasten death penalty cases,” the statement detailed.
In the report, Blanche directed the Bureau of Prisons to adjust its execution protocols “to include additional, constitutional methods of execution recognized by certain states,” highlighting traditional methods such as firing squads and electrocution, alongside a new gas asphyxiation technique introduced by Alabama in 2024.
“This adjustment will ensure the Department is equipped to conduct lawful executions even if specific drugs are unavailable,” the report emphasized.
Biden, a Democrat, commuted the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row, leaving only three: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted for the Boston Marathon bombing; Dylann Roof, found guilty of murdering nine churchgoers in South Carolina; and Robert Bowers, convicted for the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh.
Legal challenges can prolong the execution process for condemned prisoners, and none of these three men have received execution dates yet.
When a new execution protocol is adopted by a state or the federal government, death row inmates often challenge it on constitutional grounds, arguing it violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishments.”
Historically, such challenges have not succeeded at the U.S. Supreme Court, which has consistently upheld various execution methods as constitutional.
Lethal injection remains prevalent in the U.S., yet it has a higher incidence of complications compared to other methods. The single-drug protocol using pentobarbital has faced scrutiny due to instances where prison officials struggled to find suitable veins on restrained inmates. Critics argue that autopsy findings indicate victims experienced drowning sensations before succumbing to the drug, constituting a torturous demise.
Pharmaceutical companies have largely ceased supplying execution drugs to prison systems due to compliance with European Union regulations. This has compelled U.S. prisons to seek out smaller compounding pharmacies willing to produce these drugs.
Consequently, several states have revived older execution methods. Currently, five states utilize firing squads, with Idaho planning to adopt it as its primary method in July, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Last year marked South Carolina's first firing squad execution in 15 years when Brad Sigmon opted for this method over alternatives like the electric chair or lethal injection, fearing a more painful death.
In 2024, Alabama executed an inmate using nitrogen hypoxia—a method that forces nitrogen into the airways through a mask—an approach that has since been adopted by Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.
