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The administration of President Donald Trump is moving to expand how the federal government carries out executions, adding methods such as firing squads, electrocution and gas asphyxiation amid ongoing difficulties obtaining drugs for lethal injections.
The changes were outlined Friday in a Justice Department report released by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, marking a significant step in Trump’s push to reinstate and accelerate federal capital punishment during his second term.
“Among the actions taken are readopting the lethal injection protocol utilized during the first Trump Administration, expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution … and streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases,” the department said in a statement.
Broader execution options
The report directs the Federal Bureau of Prisons to revise its execution procedures to incorporate “additional, constitutional manners of execution” already permitted under certain state laws.
Those include firing squads and electrocution — methods largely phased out in recent decades — as well as nitrogen gas asphyxiation, a newer technique first used by Alabama in 2024.
Officials said the changes are intended to ensure executions can proceed even if lethal injection drugs are unavailable, an issue that has increasingly complicated capital punishment nationwide.
Drug shortages drive policy shift
Lethal injection remains the most commonly used execution method in the United States, but prison systems have struggled to obtain the necessary drugs. Many pharmaceutical companies have refused to supply them for executions, in part due to international restrictions and ethical concerns.
As a result, states and now the federal government have explored alternatives. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, several states have recently revived older methods such as firing squads, while others have adopted nitrogen gas protocols.
Context: Trump’s death penalty push
Trump resumed federal executions during his first term after a nearly 20-year pause, overseeing 13 executions in the final months of his presidency.
After taking office for a second term, he reversed a moratorium imposed by former President Joe Biden and authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty in multiple new cases. The Justice Department said Blanche has approved pursuing death sentences against nine defendants so far.
Who remains on federal death row
Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates before leaving office, leaving three individuals still facing execution:
- Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
- Dylann Roof
- Robert Bowers
None currently have scheduled execution dates, and their cases are expected to face prolonged legal appeals.
Legal challenges likely
The adoption of new execution methods is expected to trigger legal challenges from death row inmates, who often argue that such protocols violate the Constitution’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishments.”
Historically, however, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld execution methods and has not ruled any officially adopted protocol unconstitutional.
Still, critics of lethal injection and alternative methods argue that evidence — including autopsy findings — suggests some procedures may cause prolonged suffering.
Growing national trend
The federal government’s move mirrors a broader shift among states grappling with execution logistics. South Carolina recently carried out the nation’s first firing squad execution in more than a decade, while multiple states have approved or implemented nitrogen gas asphyxiation.
Supporters say expanding execution options ensures that lawful sentences can be carried out. Opponents argue the changes revive controversial and potentially inhumane practices.
What comes next
The Bureau of Prisons is expected to begin updating its protocols in the coming months. Any attempt to carry out executions under the revised rules will likely face immediate legal scrutiny.
The policy shift sets up a renewed national debate over capital punishment — not just whether it should be used, but how it should be carried out in an era of legal, ethical and logistical challenges.
