The Trump administration's Justice Department moved Friday to dramatically reshape federal capital punishment, reintroducing firing squads as an execution method and dismantling Biden-era restrictions that had paused federal death sentences for nearly four years.
The shift signals a sharp reversal in death penalty policy. The department announced it is readopting the lethal injection protocol from Trump's first term, which uses pentobarbital, while simultaneously expanding execution methods to include firing squads. Officials also said they are streamlining internal processes to accelerate death penalty cases through the courts.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche rescinded the Biden administration's moratorium on federal executions, which had been in place since 2021. The department has now authorized prosecutors to seek death sentences against 44 defendants, with Blanche personally authorizing charges in nine cases so far.
In a statement, the department framed the moves as restoring institutional authority. "The Department of Justice acted to restore its solemn duty to seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences," officials said, "clearing the way for the Department to carry out executions once death-sentenced inmates have exhausted their appeals."
The push reflects Trump's campaign pledge to pursue federal executions more aggressively. Shortly after his inauguration in January, he signed an executive order directing the attorney general to ensure states have adequate supplies of execution drugs. The department said it has been working to implement that directive and undo what it called the Biden Justice Department's "efforts to erode the death penalty."
Federal executions had been halted since early 2021, when then-Attorney General Merrick Garland imposed the moratorium pending a review of department policies. During Trump's first term, the government had already resumed federal executions after a hiatus of nearly two decades.
Beyond current actions, the department signaled further restrictions ahead. Officials said they plan to propose rules that would allow states to expedite federal habeas review of capital cases and would bar death row inmates from submitting clemency petitions.
Five states currently permit execution by firing squad: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. The method remains rare in practice, with most executions carried out by lethal injection or electric chair.
The policy shift arrives as public sentiment on capital punishment shows signs of erosion. A Gallup poll from October found that support for the death penalty among Americans has declined substantially over three decades, falling from 80 percent in 1994 to 52 percent in 2025. Executions nationwide reached a 16-year high last year, even as backing for capital punishment wanes among the general population.
Author James Rodriguez: "The administration is betting it can accelerate federal executions at a moment when most Americans are souring on the death penalty, a risky political calculation that inverts what usually works at the ballot box."
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