The Department of Justice has issued a new directive expanding federal execution procedures, including adding pentobarbital injections and firing squads as authorized methods for carrying out the federal death penalty.
According to a memo reported by Fox News, the policy change is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to restart and streamline federal capital punishment after years of limited enforcement and procedural delays. The memo states that the goal is to ensure death sentences are fully carried out once all legal appeals have been exhausted.
Under the updated framework, the Bureau of Prisons will re-adopt a lethal injection protocol previously used during President Donald Trump’s first term, while also expanding execution options to include additional methods such as firing squads. Officials say the expansion is intended to address logistical and legal challenges that have complicated federal executions in recent years.
The Justice Department also outlined plans to review and potentially expand federal death row capacity, along with evaluating whether new execution facilities are needed. In parallel, officials are considering procedural reforms aimed at speeding up post-conviction appeals, particularly federal habeas corpus review, which can extend cases for years or even decades after sentencing.
The memo emphasized the administration’s intent to resume carrying out capital sentences more efficiently. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized the previous administration’s approach, arguing that it failed to adequately enforce federal death penalty laws in cases involving violent offenders, including terrorists and individuals convicted of child murder or killing law enforcement officers.
The policy shift follows President Donald Trump’s early executive order in his second term directing federal agencies to fully implement laws authorizing capital punishment. It also reverses the previous administration’s moratorium on federal executions, which had halted executions at the federal level.
In 2024, former President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most individuals on federal death row, a move that drew strong opposition from Republicans and support from criminal justice reform advocates. The new directive signals a clear departure from that approach.
The inclusion of firing squads marks a significant expansion of federal execution methods. While not previously used at the federal level in modern times, the method remains legal in some states and has been used recently at the state level, including in South Carolina.
The updated policy also reaffirms the use of pentobarbital, a sedative used in some lethal injection protocols. The Justice Department stated that its use complies with constitutional standards prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment, despite past legal and ethical debates over execution drugs.
Supporters of the policy argue that it strengthens deterrence and ensures justice for victims’ families by reducing delays in carrying out lawful sentences. Critics, however, are likely to raise renewed legal and moral objections, particularly regarding expanded execution methods and efforts to accelerate appeals.
The directive is expected to face scrutiny in federal courts and could reignite long-standing debates over the scope, fairness, and implementation of the federal death penalty in the United States.
