WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday announced sweeping actions to strengthen the federal death penalty, including restoring a previously used pentobarbital lethal injection protocol and authorizing firing squads as an execution method in federal cases.
The changes were outlined in a Justice Department report titled Restoring and Strengthening the Federal Death Penalty, which officials say is intended to streamline capital punishment procedures and reinforce the federal government’s authority to carry out death sentences.
According to the Justice Department, the move reinstates the single-drug pentobarbital protocol used during President Donald Trump’s first administration, when 13 federal executions were carried out after a nearly two-decade pause. Officials also announced federal protocols will be expanded to include firing squads, and potentially other execution methods permitted under certain state laws.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the policy changes are aimed at ensuring federal death sentences are carried out and that victims’ families receive justice. The department also signaled it intends to speed up reviews in capital cases and continue pursuing the death penalty in dozens of pending cases. Reports indicate federal prosecutors have been authorized to seek capital punishment in 44 cases, with several already approved.
The move marks a dramatic shift from the Biden administration, which imposed a moratorium on federal executions and commuted most federal death row sentences to life without parole. Only three inmates remain on federal death row following those commutations, according to reports.
Supporters say the changes restore tools needed to punish the most heinous crimes, while critics are expected to challenge the policy on constitutional and humanitarian grounds, particularly regarding firing squads and other alternative methods of execution.
The announcement is likely to intensify national debate over capital punishment, federal authority, and the limits of punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
More legal and political challenges surrounding the policy are expected in the weeks ahead.
