The Justice Department announced on 24 April 2026 that federal executions may now be carried out by firing squad, electrocution, or nitrogen gas — the first such expansion in U.S. history.
The Justice Department announced on 24 April 2026 that federal executions may now be carried out by firing squad, electrocution, or nitrogen gas asphyxiation — a historic expansion of permitted methods that puts three federal death-row inmates on notice after decades of near-exclusive reliance on lethal injection.
The announcement, signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, cited persistent difficulty obtaining the barbiturate drugs used in lethal injection protocols. Under the updated guidelines, federal executioners may choose any method permitted in the state where the execution is taking place, or fall back on federal alternatives if the state offers none. The Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington-based research organization, confirmed that this marks the first time in U.S. history the federal government has formally authorized firing squads in its own protocols. "This normalises an irreversible punishment that the rest of the democratic world has abandoned," Robert Dunham, the center's executive director, told NPR on 24 April 2026.
death penalty · federal executions 2026 · firing squad
Three inmates remain on federal death row following President Joseph Biden's decision in January 2025 to commute 37 of 40 federal death sentences in the final hours of his administration. Those three are Robert Bowers, convicted in the October 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people; Dylann Roof, who murdered nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on 17 June 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who detonated bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on 15 April 2013. All three are now eligible for execution under any approved method.
“All three are now eligible for execution under any approved method.”
The same day the DOJ issued its announcement, Pope Leo XIV, speaking in a video statement from Vatican City, reiterated the Catholic Church's position that the death penalty is "inadmissible in every circumstance regardless of the gravity of the committed offense." A Vatican spokesperson said the timing was coincidental and that the Pope's statement had been scheduled days in advance. The juxtaposition generated immediate coverage across European outlets and drew wide attention on social media, where commentators noted the rare collision of papal authority and American criminal justice policy on a single news cycle.
Key Takeaways
→death penalty: As of 24 April 2026, the Justice Department authorizes lethal injection, firing squad, electrocution, and nitrogen gas asphyxiation for federal executions.
→federal executions 2026: As of 24 April 2026, the Justice Department authorizes lethal injection, firing squad, electrocution, and nitrogen gas asphyxiation for federal executions.
→firing squad: As of 24 April 2026, the Justice Department authorizes lethal injection, firing squad, electrocution, and nitrogen gas asphyxiation for federal executions.
→Trump DOJ: As of 24 April 2026, the Justice Department authorizes lethal injection, firing squad, electrocution, and nitrogen gas asphyxiation for federal executions.
Five U.S. states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah — currently authorize firing squads as an alternative method. South Carolina became the first state to use the method in more than a century when it executed an inmate in March 2022 using a three-person team. Proponents of expanding permissible methods argue that firing squads are statistically less likely to produce prolonged suffering than the botched lethal injection procedures documented in at least a dozen cases since 2014. Critics of that argument say it elides the broader objection to state-sanctioned killing.
death penalty · federal executions 2026 · firing squad
Legal challenges are expected. The American Civil Liberties Union announced it would challenge the new protocols under the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Federal courts have split on whether specific methods of execution meet that standard. The Supreme Court held in Bucklew v. Precythe (2019) that prisoners challenging a method must identify a known and available alternative that significantly reduces a substantial risk of severe pain — a bar that prior challenges to firing squads have cleared, at least at the circuit level.
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The policy shift is consistent with the Trump administration's stated intent to restart federal executions, which resumed under Trump in July 2020 after a 17-year moratorium and were paused again under Biden in January 2021. Since returning to office in January 2025, the White House has signaled repeatedly that it intends to execute the three remaining inmates on federal death row. The DOJ's April 24 announcement brings that intent closer to action. The Bureau of Prisons must now issue formal scheduling orders identifying a date and method for each condemned inmate — a step that will almost immediately trigger injunctive proceedings in federal court.
Watch for filings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Indiana, where Robert Bowers is held, in the coming weeks. Any scheduled execution will face an immediate stay petition, and the resulting litigation could reach the Supreme Court before the end of 2026.
What methods does the DOJ now permit for federal executions?
As of 24 April 2026, the Justice Department authorizes lethal injection, firing squad, electrocution, and nitrogen gas asphyxiation for federal executions. The actual method used depends on state law and drug availability at the time of the scheduled execution.
Who are the three inmates currently on federal death row?
Robert Bowers (Tree of Life synagogue shooting, Pittsburgh, October 2018), Dylann Roof (Emanuel AME Church shooting, Charleston, June 2015), and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon bombing, April 2013). The other 37 federal death row inmates had their sentences commuted to life in prison by President Biden on 19 January 2025.
Has the federal government ever used firing squads before?
The federal government has never previously authorized firing squads in its own execution protocols, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Five U.S. states permit the method. South Carolina became the first state in more than a century to execute an inmate by firing squad in March 2022.
Will the new DOJ execution protocols face legal challenges?
Yes. The ACLU announced it will challenge the protocols under the Eighth Amendment. Federal courts have historically issued stays of execution pending review of novel method-of-execution claims. The Supreme Court's 2019 ruling in Bucklew v. Precythe sets the standard challengers must meet.
