Justice Department Urges Firing Squads as Drug Shortage Disrupts Executions in 5 States
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 18
Justice Department Urges Firing Squads as Drug Shortage Disrupts Executions in 5 States
5 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 18
Last month, the Justice Department told federal prison officials to consider firing squads as a shortage of lethal-injection drugs complicates executions.
South Carolina has already carried out 3 recent firing-squad executions, and Idaho is renovating its execution chamber for the method; 4 other states have authorized it.
Supporters of the shift argue firing squads can be more reliable and may cause faster unconsciousness than lethal injection, which has been tied to botched executions and autopsy findings suggesting hidden suffering.
Capital punishment remains legal in 27 states, but U.S. support has fallen to just over half from 80% in 1994, leaving any broader return to visibly violent executions politically fraught.
Costing millions more than life sentences, what justifies the push to expand execution methods?
Can a method of execution be both visually brutal and more humane than its predecessor?
U.S. Federal Executions 2026: Trump Administration Expands Methods to Firing Squad, Electrocution, and Gas Amid Legal and Moral Debate
Overview
In April 2026, the U.S. Justice Department announced a major change in federal capital punishment policy, expanding execution methods to include firing squads, electrocution, and lethal gas. This shift was driven by ongoing problems obtaining lethal injection drugs and follows a 2020 rule that allowed executions by any method permitted in the sentencing state. The Justice Department’s report emphasized that the Supreme Court has consistently upheld these methods under the Eighth Amendment, and has never found an execution method unconstitutional. This policy marks a significant departure from recent practices and reflects a broader re-evaluation of federal capital punishment.