DOJ Announces Changes to Death Penalty Procedures
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has revealed plans to speed up death penalty cases and has introduced the firing squad as an approved execution method, aiming to enhance the federal death penalty system.
On Friday, officials indicated they are looking to simplify the process of seeking the death penalty and reduce the years between conviction and execution. They also stated that the use of pentobarbital, a drug for lethal injections, aligns with the Eighth Amendment standards.
The DOJ is working to reinstate the federal death penalty regulations from the Trump administration, which were rolled back under President Biden. They released a report criticizing Biden’s DOJ for supposedly undermining the death penalty and causing significant harm to the nation.
“Today, the Department of Justice acted to restore its solemn obligation to seek, obtain, and execute lawful death sentences. This clears the way for the Department to carry out executions after death row inmates complete their appeals,” the DOJ explained in a statement.
“Steps taken include re-adopting the lethal injection protocols from the first Trump term, adding execution methods like firing squads, and streamlining internal processes to speed up death penalty cases,” the statement added.
“The death sentence conveys the full gravity of the crime and reinforces that human life is valued, delivering a moral message that society will not accept such violations,” the DOJ further stated.
After Todd Blanche stepped up as acting attorney general following Pam Bondi’s resignation, he allowed California’s top federal prosecutor to pursue the death penalty against three suspected MS-13 members accused of killing individuals who cooperated with law enforcement.
“The previous administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment for the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and police killers,” Blanche remarked in a statement.
In his last days in office, President Biden granted clemency to 37 of the 40 federal inmates on death row, changing their sentences to life in prison without the chance of parole.
Notably, the three inmates who did not receive clemency include those convicted in the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, the 2015 Mother Emanuel Church shooting in Charleston, and a survivor involved in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
On the second day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order advocating for the death penalty in all serious crimes, instructing then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue it in cases involving illegal immigrants committing capital offenses in the U.S.
Moreover, in February 2025, Bondi lifted the Biden administration’s moratorium on federal death penalty usage and mandated prosecutors to seek capital punishment in applicable cases.
Currently, five states retain the death penalty after appeals have been completed. In March, a man from South Carolina, convicted of double murder, became the fourth individual executed by firing squad since the 1970s.
