The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the inclusion of firing squads as an accepted method for federal capital punishment.
In a recent press release, the DOJ outlined several “actions” aimed at “restoring our solemn duty to seek, obtain, and execute lawful death sentences.”
These actions involve “re-adopting the lethal injection protocol” from President Donald Trump’s first term and “expanding it to include additional execution methods, such as firing squad.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated, “The previous administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by not pursuing and carrying out the ultimate punishment for the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and police killers.”
The press release noted that President Trump had previously instructed the DOJ to “prioritize seeking the death penalty in appropriate cases” and to carry it out “promptly.”
During the Trump administration, the DOJ “took sustained action to implement that directive and reverse efforts made during the Biden administration that undermined the death penalty.”
In contrast, under former President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Merrick Garland, the DOJ “made a sharp break from its longstanding approach to capital crimes,” according to a press release. The Biden administration also indicated:
• They imposed an indefinite moratorium on executions, citing a flawed analysis suggesting that the current use of pentobarbital for lethal injections could lead to “unnecessary pain and suffering.”
• They chose not to pursue the death penalty in several severe cases, even when recommended by career prosecutors, including child rapists and murderers, as well as those involved in racially motivated mass shootings and violent drug-related crimes.
• Against the wishes of victims’ families and career prosecutors, they halted capital prosecutions that had been legally authorized and were actively underway.
• Attorney General Garland, expressing personal opposition to the death penalty, requested President Biden to commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 death row inmates, effectively clearing federal death row without consulting all the victims’ families.
During the Trump era, the DOJ “revoked the federal death penalty stay in Biden v. Garland and authorized the death penalty for 44 defendants,” as per the press release.
