Justice Department Reinstates Firing Squads And Pentobarbital For Federal Executions
On April 24, the Justice Department reinstated firing squads and restored pentobarbital lethal injection as federal execution methods, a move intended to broaden and speed up federal capital punishment options.
The department said it is reimplementing the single-drug pentobarbital protocol used during the first Trump administration and is formally adding firing squads as an authorized method. DOJ officials framed the change as strengthening the federal death penalty and streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases. A department report criticized the Biden Justice Department for actions it said weakened and delayed the death penalty and insisted the use of pentobarbital does not violate the Eighth Amendment. The announcement follows a Trump executive order directing aggressive pursuit of the death penalty for crimes deemed severe, including murders of law enforcement officers and some capital crimes by undocumented immigrants; there are only three inmates now on the federal death row, limiting immediate impact.
The episode traces back to a drug shortage and legal fights that halted federal executions in 2003. In July 2019, Attorney General William Barr resumed federal executions with a single-drug pentobarbital protocol, and the government carried out 13 executions from July 2020 to January 2021. In November 2020, regulations were amended to authorize alternate methods, including firing squads, electrocution and gas, to ensure options if pentobarbital became unavailable. Attorney General Merrick Garland imposed a moratorium in July 2021, and President Biden commuted 37 of 40 federal death sentences in December 2024. A last-minute Justice Department move on January 16, 2025 withdrew the pentobarbital protocol, then the new administration ordered its restoration after January 20, 2025.
Coverage has shifted from describing a technical regulatory tweak to treating the announcement as a Trump administration policy choice aimed at reviving capital punishment. Major outlets framed the action as an active, in-force policy change rather than a draft rule, and commentators on social media condemned the reinstatement as state-sponsored murder and barbaric. Critics warned the change aims to speed executions and raised questions about international law and due process; historically, the federal government has never executed a civilian by firing squad.
📊 Relevant Data
As of April 2026, there are only 3 inmates on federal death row, following President Biden's commutation of 37 out of 40 death sentences in December 2024.
List of Federal Death Row Prisoners — Death Penalty Information Center
The federal government has never executed a civilian by firing squad; historical federal execution methods have included hanging, electrocution, gas chamber, and lethal injection.
Historical Federal Executions — U.S. Marshals Service
📌 Key Facts
- The Justice Department is reimplementing the lethal injection protocol used during the first Trump administration and has expanded authorized federal execution methods to include firing squads; pentobarbital is being reinstated as an execution drug.
- DOJ framed the announcement as an effort to "strengthen" the federal death penalty and to "streamline internal processes to expedite death penalty cases."
- A DOJ report criticizes the Biden Justice Department for actions it says "weaken, delay and dismantle the death penalty," and the report asserts that use of pentobarbital does not violate the Eighth Amendment.
- The policy reiterates and aligns with former President Trump’s executive order directing pursuit of the death penalty for "all crimes of a severity demanding its use," specifically naming murders of law enforcement officers and certain capital crimes by illegal immigrants.
- Multiple outlets (including The Wall Street Journal and CBS) present this as a formal, in-force Trump administration policy decision—not merely a technical or proposed DOJ adjustment—to add firing squads as an authorized federal execution method.
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- CBS piece reiterates that death by firing squad is now reinstated in U.S. federal cases under the Trump administration.
- Confirms this is being framed publicly as an active, in-force policy change, not just a proposal or draft rule.
- Wall Street Journal framing confirms that the Trump administration has formally added firing squads as an authorized federal execution method, aligning with DOJ’s April 24 announcement.
- The article headline reinforces that this is a Trump administration policy choice rather than a purely technical DOJ adjustment.
- DOJ says it is reimplementing the lethal injection protocol used during the first Trump administration and expanding it to include firing squads as an execution method.
- The announcement is explicitly framed as part of efforts to "strengthen" the federal death penalty and to "streamline internal processes to expedite death penalty cases."
- DOJ report criticizes the Biden Justice Department for steps that allegedly "weaken, delay and dismantle the death penalty" and asserts that use of pentobarbital does not violate the Eighth Amendment.
- The article reiterates Trump’s executive order directing pursuit of the death penalty for "all crimes of a severity demanding its use" and specifically for murders of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by illegal immigrants.