The US Justice Department has expanded federal execution methods to includefiring squads, electrocution and gas asphyxiation, it announced on Friday. The decision forms part of President Donald Trump's drive to revive capital punishment in his second term, following a moratorium under the Biden administration.
Officials highlighted ongoing challenges in procuring drugs for lethal injections as the main driver behind broadening the options available to the Bureau of Prisons. The announcement fulfils an early pledge to prioritise seeking and carrying out death sentences for the most serious federal offences.
The announcement aligns with Trump's day-one executive order calling for the prioritisation of death sentences in appropriate cases and the swift implementation of those sentences to safeguard public safety. The Justice Department stressed that all proposed methods comply with theEighth Amendment's banon cruel and unusual punishment, citing Supreme Court precedents.
No federal executions have taken place since the start of the Biden presidency, and the next is unlikely for several years given the lengthy appeals process. The department is examining options to relocate or expand federal death row facilities to accommodate the updated protocols.
The move has prompted a range of responses. Supporters see it as a necessary step to overcome practical hurdles in carrying out lawful sentences for the most dangerous criminals, while critics have expressed unease about reverting to more overtly violent methods.
On Instagram, major news outlets captured the story's rapid spread. Al Jazeera English reported that the Trump administration had announced plans to expand the use of the federal death penalty, including through the deployment of firing squads.
ABC News stated that the Justice Department will adopt firing squads as a permitted method of execution as the administration moves to ramp up and expedite capital punishment cases.
ATikTok clipfrom CNN summarised the development succinctly: 'The Trump Justice Department wants to bring back firing squads for federal executions. And this announcement came Friday as the Justice Department is continuing to clear the way for expediting federal death-penalty cases.'
The Justice Department announced Friday it is continuing to clear the way for expediting federal death-penalty cases, including by expanding the manners of execution to include death by firing squad. CNN’s Paula Reid reports.
In a formal report, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche directed updates to the execution protocol to incorporate additional constitutional methods currently used by certain states. This includes the firing squad, permitted in five states, electrocution and gas asphyxiation using nitrogen hypoxia, pioneered by Alabama in 2024.
Source: International Business Times UK
