The U.S. Department of Justice has expanded the methods available for federal executions to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation, and electrocution. A 48-page memo released on Friday stated that this expansion will 'strengthen' the death penalty.
Key Takeaways
The DOJ has expanded federal execution methods to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation, and electrocution. This move follows Biden's clemency for most death row inmates and Trump's push to resume executions.
- DOJ adds firing squads, gas, and electrocution to execution methods
- Only three defendants remain on federal death row after Biden's clemency
- Acting AG Blanche criticizes prior administration for not pursuing death penalty
- Five states currently allow executions by firing squad: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah
According to NPR, the move comes after former President Joe Biden granted clemency to 37 of the 40 federal death row prisoners before leaving office, reducing the number of inmates facing capital punishment. The Trump administration has directed the DOJ to resume seeking executions and has criticized the prior administration for not pursuing the death penalty against dangerous criminals.
The memo defends the use of lethal injection with pentobarbital as 'the gold standard of lethal injection drugs'. Thirteen death row inmates were executed during Trump's first term. The Justice Department will adopt firing squads as a permitted method of execution, with only three defendants remaining on federal death row after President Biden converted 37 sentences to life in prison.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, 'The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals.' Five states currently allow executions by firing squad: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah. The policy document takes aim at former President Joe Biden for implementing a moratorium on federal executions.
The Trump administration has also reauthorized the use of single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital that were used to carry out 13 executions during the first Trump administration. The Biden administration had removed pentobarbital from the federal protocol over concerns about unnecessary pain and suffering, according to NPR. The Trump administration argues that the Biden administration 'got the standard and the science wrong' in its findings regarding pentobarbital.
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