The Trump administration has authorized firing squads and re-introduced pentobarbital for federal executions, drawing immediate condemnation from Pope Leo XIV, who reaffirmed the Catholic Church's opposition to the death penalty.
The Justice Department announced it will re-adopt lethal injection and expand execution methods to include firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation for federal death penalty cases. The policy reverses Biden's pause on federal executions and comes after Trump pledged to vigorously pursue the death penalty. Only three federal inmates remain on death row after Biden commuted 37 sentences in December 2024.
The Justice Department announced Friday that the US will re-adopt firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation as execution methods for the worst federal offenses, expanding beyond lethal injection. The policy readopts the protocol from Trump's first term and streamlines processes to expedite death penalty cases after inmates exhaust appeals. This reverses Biden's pause on federal executions, though only three federal inmates remain on death row after Biden commuted 37 sentences in December 2024. Public support for the death penalty has declined to 52%, and the US remains the only country in the Americas actively carrying out executions.
The US is one of the very few Western nations that still uses the death penalty, although public support for capital punishment has gradually declined among Americans.
The US is one of very few Western nations still using the death penalty, although public support for capital punishment has declined among Americans.
The Justice Department announced Friday it will adopt firing squads as a permitted federal execution method and reauthorize pentobarbital lethal injections, reversing Biden-era policies. The moves come as the Trump administration ramps up capital punishment, with 44 defendants now facing potential death sentences compared to just three remaining on federal death row after Biden commuted 37 sentences.
The US Department of Justice has directed federal prisons to expand execution methods to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation and electrocution, alongside lethal injection. The memo released Friday aims to strengthen the death penalty for the most serious crimes, ensuring executions can proceed even if specific drugs are unavailable. The move reverses Biden-era policies, with former President Biden having granted clemency to 37 of 40 federal death row prisoners before leaving office.
The US Department of Justice has directed federal prisons to expand execution methods to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation and electrocution, supplementing lethal injection. The memo aims to ensure executions can proceed even if specific drugs are unavailable. Former President Biden had granted clemency to 37 of 40 federal death row prisoners before leaving office, while Trump ended a 20-year federal execution moratorium in his first term and signed an executive order in January 2025 resuming death penalty pursuit.
The Justice Department announced plans to reinstate firing squads as a federal execution method, reversing Biden-era limits. The policy shift aims to accelerate death penalty cases and restore Trump-era protocols, with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche criticizing the previous administration for failing to pursue executions against dangerous criminals.
The US Justice Department noted that the prior administration failed to live up to its duty to protect the American people
The Trump Justice Department said on Friday it was seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add the firing squad, electrocution and gas to lethal injection as methods of execution. “The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Under US...
The Justice Department announced Friday it will adopt firing squads as a permitted federal execution method and reauthorize single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital. The moves reverse Biden administration policies and ramp up capital punishment, with the Trump administration having already authorized seeking death sentences against 44 defendants. Only three defendants remain on federal death row after President Biden commuted 37 sentences to life imprisonment.
