Lethal injection has been the default method for federal executions for more than three decades. But now, the federal government is expanding its toolkit. And the new options are brutal.
The US Department of Justice has directed federal prisons to expand the range of methods used for executions to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation, and electrocution. In a 48-page memo released on Friday, the department says this will “strengthen” the death penalty, deterring the most barbaric crimes, delivering justice for victims, and providing long-overdue closure to surviving loved ones.”
The memo also defends the use of lethal injection, calling the drug pentobarbital “the gold standard of lethal injection drugs.” It has been the default means for federal executions since 1993, but has faced criticism from campaigners as being a cruel means of execution. There have also been challenges in recent years in sourcing the drug. Broadening the means of executions “will help ensure the Department is prepared to carry out lawful executions even if a specific drug is unavailable,” the DOJ said in an accompanying report.
The previous administration had placed a moratorium on most federal executions. Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden gave clemency to 37 of the 40 federal death row prisoners. President Donald Trump directed the DOJ to resume seeking executions on his first day in office last year.
Trump is a long-time supporter of the death penalty. In his first term, he ended a 20-year moratorium on executions committed by the federal government. Thirteen death row inmates were executed during that term. On his first day back in office in January 2025, he signed an executive order directing the death penalty to be pursued again “for all crimes of a severity demanding its use,” as well as in cases in which an illegal immigrant kills a law enforcement officer.
The Justification
In a statement, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche argued that “the prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers.”
The DOJ’s position is that expanding execution methods is a matter of practicality. If lethal injection drugs become unavailable, the government wants alternatives ready. The memo frames the change as strengthening the death penalty system, not making it more cruel.
But critics see it very differently.
The Backlash
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin called the change “cruel, immoral, and discriminatory.” “Expanding the federal death penalty will be a stain on our history,” he said in a statement on X.
Human rights organizations have also condemned the move. Critics argue that firing squads, gas chambers, and the electric chair are relics of a darker era in American justice. They point to botched electrocutions, painful gas executions, and the visceral brutality of firing squads as evidence that these methods have no place in a modern justice system.
The DOJ’s memo does not address these criticisms directly. It focuses on deterrence, justice for victims, and logistical preparedness.
The State Precedent
Some states, which each have their own laws regarding the death penalty, have already turned to alternative methods. Five states have firing squads, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In 2024, Alabama became the first state to kill a prisoner using nitrogen gas. Four other states have since adopted the use of nitrogen in executions.
The federal government’s move to adopt firing squads, gas, and electrocution follows a trend among states that have struggled to obtain lethal injection drugs. Pharmaceutical companies, particularly in Europe, have refused to sell drugs for executions. States have turned to compounding pharmacies, but those sources have also dried up. The result has been a search for alternatives.
The federal government is now formalizing that search.
What This Means
The DOJ’s memo does not change the death penalty overnight. Federal executions remain rare. The last federal execution was in 2020, during Trump’s first term. But the memo signals a clear direction. The Trump administration wants the death penalty to be available, and it wants multiple methods to carry it out.
For death row inmates, the memo adds uncertainty. They now face the possibility of execution by methods that many states have abandoned as cruel. For victims’ families, the administration argues, the memo delivers closure. For critics, it delivers a stain on American history.
The debate over the death penalty has never been settled. But the methods used to carry it out have generally become less graphic over time. The electric chair replaced hanging. Lethal injection replaced the electric chair. The DOJ’s memo reverses that trajectory. It adds firing squads, gas, and electrocution back into the federal toolkit.
The Bottom Line
The US Department of Justice has directed federal prisons to expand execution methods to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation, and electrocution. The 48-page memo says the change will “strengthen” the death penalty. The previous administration had placed a moratorium on federal executions. President Trump directed the DOJ to resume seeking executions on his first day in office last year.
The DOJ argues that broadening execution methods ensures the government can carry out lawful executions even if lethal injection drugs are unavailable. Critics, including Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, call the change “cruel, immoral, and discriminatory.” Some states have already turned to alternative methods, including nitrogen gas and firing squads.
