What is firing squad execution? US Justice Department bringing back controversial death penalty method

The United States Department of Justice announced on Friday (April 24) that it is expanding federal execution protocols to include methods such as firing squads alongside lethal injection, reversing a moratorium imposed during the previous administration. The DOJ press release said, “Today, the Department of Justice acted to restore its solemn duty to seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences – clearing the way for the Department to carry out executions once death-sentenced inmates have exhausted their appeals.”

The department is also moving to reintroduce alternative execution methods for the most serious federal crimes, including gas asphyxiation and electrocution. A firing squad execution is a method of capital punishment in which a condemned prisoner is shot by a group of trained shooters. The inmate is typically restrained with a target placed over the heart while multiple shooters fire simultaneously. Historically used in military and rare civilian cases, firing squads have been largely absent from modern US practice, where lethal injection has been the primary method.

According to the Associated Press, five US states currently permit firing squad executions under specific conditions: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. The DOJ said the change is driven by practical concerns, including difficulty sourcing lethal injection drugs due to legal and pharmaceutical restrictions. According to the statement, the measures include "expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution such as the firing squad" and "readopting the lethal injection protocol utilized during the first Trump Administration," which "relies on pentobarbital as the lethal agent."

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The department said the changes aim at “streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases.” It also confirmed it has "authorized seeking death sentences against 44 defendants" and "rescinded" the federal execution ban under the Biden administration. Interim Attorney General Todd Blanche has "already authorized seeking a death sentence against nine of these defendants," according to the statement.

Public support for the death penalty has declined in the United States. A Gallup poll showed support dropping from 80% in 1994 to 52% in 2025. The Death Penalty Information Center noted that "the evidence shows that the death penalty in 2025 is increasingly unpopular with the American people even as elected officials schedule executions in search of diminishing political benefits."

However, executions in the US reached a 16-year high last year. Donald Trump had previously signed an executive order directing federal authorities to pursue death sentences and ensure states maintain access to lethal injection drugs. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland imposed a moratorium on federal executions in 2021 during a policy review. Since then, the DOJ said it has worked to reverse those policies and restore the federal death penalty system.