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US President Donald Trump’s administration plans to add firing squads, electrocution and gas asphyxiation as alternative methods of executing people convicted of the gravest federal crimes, it announced on Friday, noting difficulties in obtaining drugs for lethal injections.

The recommendation came in a Justice Department report fulfilling Trump’s promise to resume capital punishment at the federal level in his second term, although it will likely be several years before another federal execution can be scheduled.

Shortly before his first term ended in 2021, Trump resumed executions at the federal level after a 20-year gap, putting 13 federal prisoners to death with lethal injections in his final few months in office. There had been just three federal executions in the preceding 50 years.

Most executions in the US are carried out by state governments.

Returning to the White House last year, Trump rescinded a moratorium on federal executions by his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

Trump’s Justice Department is now seeking the death penalty against more than 40 defendants across the country, although none have yet gone to trial, each of which can take years.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, in his introduction to the 52-page report, wrote that the Biden administration’s moratorium had “undermined the federal death penalty and left victims, their families, their communities, and the Nation to bear the consequences.”

Reviving old methods, adding a new one

In the report, Blanche instructed the Justice Department’s Bureau of Prisons to modify its execution protocol “to include additional, constitutional manners of execution that are currently provided for by the law of certain states,” pointing to the older methods of firing squads and electrocution, and the new gas asphyxiation method pioneered by Alabama in 2024.

Adding alternative methods to the protocol will allow for executions “even if a specific drug is unavailable,” the report said.

Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 men awaiting executions on federal death row, leaving only three behind: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted in 2015 for the deadly bombing of the Boston Marathon; Dylann Roof, convicted in 2017 of killing nine worshipers at a South Carolina church; and Robert Bowers, convicted in 2023 of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The US is one of very few Western nations that still uses the death penalty, although public support for capital punishment has gradually declined among Americans. According to long-running Gallup surveys, 52 percent said they supported it for murder last October, the lowest in more than 50 years, while 44 percent said they opposed it.

Legal challenges to execution methods are daunting

It can take years for condemned prisoners to exhaust all legal avenues for challenging their death sentences, and none of the three men on federal death row are eligible, under current Justice Department rules, to be given execution dates.

Typically, when a US state or the federal government adopts a new execution protocol, death row prisoners can mount legal challenges arguing the new method violates the US Constitution’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishments.”

Such challenges have always failed at the US Supreme Court, which has never previously found an adopted execution method to be unconstitutional. However, some methods, including the firing squad and electrocution, have not been revisited by the court since the 19th century, and the court has not yet agreed to hear challenges to gas asphyxiation.

Lethal injection remains the most common method in the US, but has a higher rate of being botched than other methods, including the single-drug protocol adopted by the federal government in 2019 using pentobarbital, a powerful barbiturate.

Some executions have been aborted as prison officials struggled to find a vein on a strapped-down prisoner. Opponents of the method say autopsies of executed people’s lungs show they experienced torturous drowning before dying from the pentobarbital.

Pharmaceutical companies refuse to sell prison systems their drugs that can be used

US Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is a federal executive department responsible for enforcing the law and administering justice in the United States. Established in 1870 by President Ulysses S. Grant, it was created to handle the growing legal needs of the federal government and to provide centralized leadership for federal prosecutions. Headquartered at the Robert F. Kennedy Building in Washington, D.C., the DOJ oversees agencies like the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys, playing a key role in civil rights, antitrust, and criminal justice matters.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, was established in 1790 as a federal district separate from any state, with its location chosen as a compromise between northern and southern states. Designed by French architect Pierre L’Enfant, the city is home to iconic landmarks such as the White House, the Capitol, and the Lincoln Memorial. Today, it serves as the political and cultural heart of the nation, hosting the federal government and numerous museums and monuments.

Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon, first run in 1897 and inspired by the marathon event at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens the previous year. Held on Patriots’ Day, it has become a prestigious global race, known for its challenging course and historic moments, including the tragic 2013 bombing, which has since been met with resilience and unity. Today, the marathon remains a celebrated symbol of athletic achievement and community spirit in Boston.

South Carolina church

The “South Carolina church” most notably refers to Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, founded in 1816, which is one of the oldest Black congregations in the Southern United States. It has a deep history of resilience, having been forced to operate underground after a slave revolt in 1822, and was tragically the site of a racially motivated mass shooting in 2015. Today, it stands as a powerful symbol of faith, community, and the struggle for civil rights.

Tree of Life synagogue

The Tree of Life synagogue, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1864 and is one of the oldest Jewish congregations in the area. It gained international notoriety in October 2018 when a gunman attacked the congregation during Shabbat morning services, killing 11 worshippers in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The site has since become a symbol of resilience and the fight against hate, with the community working to rebuild and honor the victims.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a major city known for its industrial history, particularly as a steel production powerhouse during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, earning it the nickname “Steel City.” Today, it has transformed into a hub for technology, healthcare, and education, with landmarks like the Andy Warhol Museum and the Duquesne Incline offering views of its three rivers. The city’s rich cultural heritage is also reflected in its diverse neighborhoods and historic sites, such as the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Alabama

Alabama, located in the southeastern United States, became the 22nd state in 1819 and played a pivotal role in American history, particularly during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Its capital, Montgomery, was a key site for events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, while the city of Birmingham became a focal point for protests against segregation. Today, Alabama is known for its rich cultural heritage, including Southern cuisine, music, and historic landmarks such as the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville.

US Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the country, established by Article III of the Constitution in 1789. Its iconic neoclassical building in Washington, D.C., was completed in 1935, symbolizing the judiciary’s role as a co-equal branch of government. The Court serves as the ultimate arbiter of constitutional law and federal disputes, shaping American legal history through landmark decisions.