Justice Department Authorizes Firing Squads And Revives Lethal Injection As Federal Execution Methods
The Justice Department on April 24, 2026 authorized firing squads and restored a single-drug pentobarbital protocol for federal executions, saying the move will let the government speed and expand capital punishment across the United States. NPR BBC
A newly issued 48-page DOJ memo directs federal prisons to add firing squads, gas asphyxiation, and electrocution as backup methods if lethal drugs are unavailable, while calling pentobarbital the "gold standard." The department framed the change as an effort to "strengthen" and streamline death-penalty cases and published a report disputing the prior administration's finding that pentobarbital risks unnecessary pain. BBC CBS News WSJ
The episode traces back to a long federal tug-of-war over execution methods. Federal executions were halted amid legal fights and drug shortages, then resumed in 2019 with a single-drug pentobarbital protocol and a 2020 regulation that authorized firing squads and other alternates. A 2021 Biden Justice Department imposed a moratorium and later withdrew pentobarbital; President Trump then ordered DOJ to resume and prioritize federal capital punishment upon taking office. WSJ NPR
Coverage of the move has shifted since the rollout. Early reports framed the decision as a technical step to ensure executions could proceed, with some outlets presenting it as a policy restoration. More recent stories emphasize ethical and political backlash, noting condemnations from religious leaders and Democratic lawmakers who called the expansion "cruel, immoral, and discriminatory." Fox News NPR BBC
The immediate arithmetic and public reaction sharpen the stakes. After last year's commutations, only three people remain on federal death row while the administration has moved to pursue death sentences in dozens more cases, and nationwide executions rose from 25 in 2024 to 47 in 2025. Supporters on social media describe the change as restoring justice, while opponents call it state-sponsored killing and point to the policy's timing the same day the pope reiterated opposition to the death penalty. (npr.org)
Show source details & analysis (7 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- The Justice Department announced on April 24, 2026 that it is reinstating the lethal-injection drug pentobarbital and authorizing death by firing squad for federal executions.
- The move is explicitly framed in a DOJ report and memo as intended to "strengthen" the federal death penalty and to "streamline internal processes to expedite death penalty cases." DOJ report
- The administration's new report directly rebuts a Biden-era review, arguing pentobarbital renders prisoners unconscious quickly enough to prevent pain and therefore does not violate the Eighth Amendment. new report
- A 48-page DOJ memo explicitly directs federal prisons to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation (nitrogen), electrocution and lethal injection with pentobarbital among authorized execution methods.
- The policy change implements a broader White House directive to prioritize pursuing and carrying out death sentences — a formal Trump administration policy choice tied to his January 2025 executive order to seek the death penalty for certain severe crimes. Trump administration
- Data cited from the Death Penalty Information Center show that after President Biden commuted 37 federal sentences only three people remained on federal death row, the Trump DOJ has moved to seek death sentences against 44 defendants, and nationwide executions rose from 25 in 2024 to 47 in 2025.
- Sen. Dick Durbin denounced the expansion as "cruel, immoral, and discriminatory," calling it a "stain" on U.S. history.
- The federal move mirrors actions in some states: five states already authorize firing squads, and several states — including Alabama — have adopted nitrogen-gas executions in recent years. five states
- The DOJ announcement coincided with a public condemnation of capital punishment by Pope Leo XIV, drawing attention to the timing of the federal decision.
📰 Source Timeline (7)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- NPR explicitly links the DOJ memo's publication and the formal authorization of firing squads to the same day Pope Leo XIV issued strong public condemnations of capital punishment, highlighting a direct timing clash.
- The article details that the Trump administration's new report directly rebuts the prior Biden-era review on pentobarbital, claiming that earlier findings misread the science and that pentobarbital renders prisoners unconscious quickly enough to prevent pain.
- NPR specifies updated numbers from the Death Penalty Information Center: only three prisoners remain on federal death row after Biden commuted 37 sentences, while the Trump administration has moved to seek death sentences against 44 defendants.
- The article adds new nationwide execution data from the Death Penalty Information Center, reporting an increase in executions from 25 in 2024 to 47 in 2025.
- The story underscores that these federal execution policy changes are part of a broader directive from President Trump, who has ordered DOJ to prioritize pursuing and carrying out death sentences since returning to office.
- NPR article confirms the same April 24, 2026 Justice Department decision to add firing squads and restore pentobarbital for federal executions.
- Article reiterates that the move is framed by DOJ as part of a broader push to ramp up and expedite federal capital punishment cases after the Biden-era moratorium.
- Piece restates that Biden-era DOJ had withdrawn pentobarbital over concerns about unnecessary pain, which the current DOJ now disputes in a new report.
- 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.
- The new 48-page DOJ memo explicitly directs federal prisons to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation, and electrocution among execution methods, in addition to lethal injection with pentobarbital.
- The memo and accompanying report frame the expansion as necessary to "strengthen" the death penalty and ensure executions can proceed if specific drugs are unavailable, calling pentobarbital the "gold standard" of lethal injection drugs.
- The article reiterates that former President Biden granted clemency to 37 of 40 federal death-row prisoners and restates Trump’s January 2025 executive order to again pursue executions broadly, including when an illegal immigrant kills a law enforcement officer.
- Democratic Senator Dick Durbin publicly denounces the change as "cruel, immoral, and discriminatory," calling the expansion a "stain" on U.S. history.
- The piece situates the federal move in the context of states that have already adopted alternative methods, noting five states authorize firing squads and that Alabama executed a prisoner with nitrogen gas in 2024, with four other states since adopting nitrogen.
- 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.