DOJ Expands Federal Execution Protocols to Include Firing Squads

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice announced on April 24, 2026, that it is expanding federal execution protocols to include firing squads as an additional method, while reinstating the pentobarbital-based lethal injection protocol used during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to modify its execution protocol “to include additional, constitutional manners of execution that are currently provided for by the law of certain states.” The move addresses ongoing challenges in procuring lethal injection drugs and aims to expedite death penalty cases after a Biden-era moratorium halted federal executions.

The announcement is part of a broader initiative to strengthen the federal death penalty. It includes readopting the first Trump administration’s lethal injection protocol using pentobarbital, streamlining internal processes, and examining options for relocating or expanding federal death row facilities to accommodate alternative methods.

Firing squads have never been used in federal executions but are authorized in some states, including Utah, Mississippi, and South Carolina. The DOJ noted that expanding options ensures executions can proceed even if specific drugs are unavailable, while remaining consistent with constitutional standards under the Eighth Amendment.

The Biden administration had imposed a moratorium on federal executions in 2021 and rescinded the Trump-era protocol, citing concerns over drug procurement and method reliability. The Trump administration resumed federal executions in 2020-2021, carrying out 13 after a 17-year hiatus.

No immediate executions are scheduled. The changes clear procedural hurdles once death-sentenced inmates exhaust their appeals.

For victims’ families and supporters of capital punishment for the most serious federal crimes, the policy restores tools to carry out lawful sentences more reliably. Critics have described the expansion as a return to outdated practices, while the DOJ maintains it fulfills the government’s duty to enforce capital sentences for the gravest offenses.