The Department of Justice on Thursday directed the Bureau of Prisons to add firing squads, electrocution, and nitrogen gas asphyxiation to the federal execution protocol. The expansion makes lethal injection the primary method but allows alternatives when drugs are unavailable.
Why it matters: The federal government last executed a prisoner in January 2021, and President Biden imposed a moratorium shortly after. The new protocols signal a sharp acceleration, with prosecutors now authorised to seek death sentences in 44 pending cases.
Why the DOJ says the change is necessary
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department has struggled to source pentobarbital and other drugs used in lethal injections. Pharmaceutical companies have increasingly restricted sales for use in executions, and legal challenges have blocked procurement efforts in multiple states.
“The Department must be prepared to carry out lawful executions even if a specific drug is unavailable,” the order states. The additional methods mirror those already authorised in several US states.
The case for the expansion
Supporters argue that court-imposed death sentences should be enforceable. They point to firing squad protocols in Utah, Mississippi, and Oklahoma as models with established legal standing. Alabama carried out the first nitrogen gas execution in January 2024 after years of legal battles.
The DOJ noted that federal courts have not ruled firing squads or electrocution unconstitutional per se, and that the Eighth Amendment prohibits only methods that involve “unnecessary cruelty.”
The case against
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia called the announcement “barbaric” and said the government should not be expanding the methods by which it kills its own citizens. Legal scholars at the Brennan Center for Justice argued that the expansion undermines decades of movement toward less physically violent execution methods.
Civil rights organisations including the ACLU said they would challenge the new protocols in court, arguing that nitrogen gas asphyxiation in particular lacks sufficient medical evidence to guarantee a painless death.
Who is affected
Only three inmates remain on federal death row after President Biden commuted 37 death sentences in the final weeks of his presidency. However, the DOJ’s authorisation of 44 new death-penalty prosecutions could significantly expand the population facing execution in coming years.
What happens next
The Bureau of Prisons must draft specific procedural guidelines for each method before any execution can proceed. Legal challenges are expected to delay implementation. Courts have previously blocked executions over protocol disputes, and the addition of three new methods will likely generate fresh litigation in multiple circuits.