The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced plans to expand federal execution protocols to include methods such as firing squads, alongside lethal injection, reversing a moratorium imposed during the previous Trump administration.
The DOJ is also seeking to bring back alternative methods of execution for those found guilty of the most serious federal crimes through gas asphyxiation and electrocution.
A firing squad execution is a method of capital punishment in which a condemned prisoner is shot to death by a group of trained shooters, typically restrained and seated with a target placed over the heart.
Five states permit firing squad executions under specific conditions: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.
The DOJ's decision is largely due to practical factors, including ongoing difficulties in obtaining drugs used for lethal injections, which have become harder to source due to pharmaceutical restrictions and legal challenges.
The Justice Department justified the reintroduction by saying that the move would help in "streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases."
Public support for the death penalty seems to be waning in the US, with a Gallup poll showing a decline in support over the previous three decades.
