The U.S. Department of Justice has directed federal prison officials to begin preparing for the introduction of additional execution methods in the coming years.
Under the new guidance, death-row inmates would face a broader range of options for how their sentences are carried out. Methods being considered include firing squads, gas asphyxiation in designated chambers, electrocution, and lethal injection using pentobarbital.
The move follows a halt in most federal executions during the administration of former President Joe Biden, who granted clemency to 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row. After returning to the White House last year, President Donald Trump ordered executions to resume as part of a broader effort to combat serious crime, and signed an executive order calling for the death penalty in particularly severe cases.
A 48-page memorandum released Friday states that the changes are intended to “strengthen the death penalty, deter the most barbaric crimes, provide justice for victims, and offer a different kind of closure for surviving loved ones." It also noted that expanding execution methods would allow sentences to be carried out even when specific drugs are unavailable.
The Justice Department added that introducing additional options could help accelerate the process and reduce waiting times for inmates on death row.