Justice Department Restarts Federal Executions, Authorizes Firing Squads if Drugs Are Unavailable

Overview

• The Justice Department, which announced the change Friday, will resume federal executions and pursue death sentences for 44 defendants.
• Officials will allow firing squads, electrocution, or nitrogen gas when lethal‑injection drugs cannot be obtained.
• The department says it will use the sedative pentobarbital for lethal injection and argues this meets the Eighth Amendment standard set in Bucklew v. Precythe.
• Plans include new rules to speed federal appeals in capital cases and to bar clemency petitions until a prisoner’s direct appeal and first post‑conviction review are finished.
• The Bureau of Prisons was told to explore relocating or expanding federal death row, a step the DOJ links to drug shortages and EU export controls that have pushed agencies to consider non‑drug methods.