U.S. Justice Department Reinstates Firing Squads for Federal Executions

Fri Apr 24 2026 21:20:12 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The Justice Department under the Trump administration revives firing squads as a method of federal executions, alongside reauthorizing single-drug lethal injections. This decision aims to expedite capital punishment cases previously slowed by the Biden administration.

In a significant policy shift, the U.S. Justice Department will now permit executions by firing squad, reintroducing the method as part of an effort to accelerate federal executions. This comes after the Biden administration's moratorium on capital punishment and concerns over the pain caused by lethal injections. Currently, only three defendants remain on federal death row, as the Trump administration prepares to seek death sentences for an additional 44 offenders.

In a controversial move, the U.S. Justice Department has announced the reauthorization of firing squads as a permitted method of execution. This change, driven by the Trump administration, aims to ramp up capital punishment cases that have faced delays during the Biden administration.

Officials confirmed that the department will also revive the use of single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital, a method previously abolished due to concerns about inflicting unnecessary pain. During Trump’s first term, this drug was used in 13 federal executions, the highest number in modern U.S. history, while the Biden administration scaled back on federal executions.

The decision unfolds against the backdrop of a sweeping effort to enforce federal death sentences, with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche claiming the prior administration failed to protect citizens by not pursuing capital punishment against dangerous criminals.

Currently, only three individuals are on federal death row as the Biden administration had commuted the sentences of others to life imprisonment. The Trump administration, however, has authorized seeking death sentences against 44 defendants, reigniting the national debate on the ethics and effectiveness of capital punishment.

Five states currently allow firing squads, including Idaho and Utah, but this is the first time the federal government will adopt such a method in its executions. Critics express concern about the implications of increased executions and the ethical considerations surrounding such policies.

Leading legal and human rights organizations are expected to closely monitor this policy shift, highlighting the ongoing debate surrounding the morality of capital punishment, particularly with methods considered by many as brutal and inhumane.