The U.S. Justice Department announced Friday its intent to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and introduce additional execution methods beyond lethal injection, including the firing squad, electrocution, and gas.
This move aligns with President Donald Trump's call on his first day back in the White House for his second term to broaden the application of capital punishment "for the vilest crimes."
Background on Federal Executions
Trump ended a 17-year hiatus in federal executions during his first term in 2020. In the final six months of that term, 13 inmates were executed by lethal injection—the highest number under any U.S. president in 120 years.
Before leaving office in January 2025, President Joe Biden, a death penalty opponent, commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row. The three whose sentences were not commuted are Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 2013 Boston Marathon bomber; Robert Bowers, who killed 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018; and Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who murdered nine Black churchgoers in 2015.
Justice Department Statement
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized the prior administration for failing to protect the American people by not pursuing the ultimate punishment against dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers. He stated that under Trump, the Department of Justice is enforcing the law and standing with victims.
Execution Methods and State Practices
Currently, five U.S. states authorize the firing squad, but only South Carolina has used it recently. Nine states allow electrocution, though it has not been employed since 2020. Two states have executed inmates using nitrogen hypoxia, a method denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane. The Justice Department's proposal would add these methods to lethal injection for federal executions.
The death penalty is typically carried out at the state level, but the federal government can seek execution for specific crimes. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states, while California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania have moratoriums in place.
