The U.S. Justice Department has announced changes to federal execution policies, bringing back methods that had previously been set aside and expanding the list of approved options. According to officials, the department will resume the same lethal injection protocol used during Donald Trump’s presidency while also authorizing firing squads as an additional method. The agency says the changes are intended to reinforce the use of capital punishment at the federal level and speed up the handling of death penalty cases.
In addition to lethal injection and firing squads, the department indicated it is considering other methods, including electrocution and nitrogen gas, the latter of which has been used in Alabama and remains controversial. These developments follow an executive order issued earlier in 2025 directing federal prosecutors to more actively seek the death penalty in cases deemed especially severe, such as the قتل of law enforcement officers or certain crimes involving undocumented immigrants.
Federal executions had resumed during Trump’s time in office after nearly 20 years without them, but were later paused under President Joe Biden, who imposed a moratorium and commuted most federal death sentences. That pause was lifted last year by then–Attorney General Pam Bondi, who instructed prosecutors to once again pursue capital punishment in specific cases, including the 2024 killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.
In a recent report, the Justice Department criticized policies from the Biden administration, arguing they had weakened the federal death penalty system. The report also reaffirmed the department’s position that the use of pentobarbital in lethal injections is consistent with constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.