US to reinstate firing squads, electrocution and gas asphyxiation for federal death penalty

(SeaPRwire) –   The Justice Department has announced its intention to expedite death penalty cases by streamlining internal procedures.

The U.S. will reinstate the use of firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation for the execution of individuals convicted of the most severe federal crimes, the Justice Department stated on Friday.

The department indicated it is “readopting the lethal injection protocol utilized during the first Trump Administration,” and will expand this to encompass “additional manners of execution,” in addition to “streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases.”

Upon returning to office in January, Trump had stated he would instruct the DOJ to “vigorously pursue” the death penalty as a means of protecting Americans from “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.”

Public support for the death penalty in the U.S. remains divided. Gallup reported that in late 2025, only a narrow majority of 52% favored it, a decrease from its peak of 80% in 1994. Concurrently, a record low percentage of the public believes the punishment is applied fairly.

The United States is currently the sole country in the Americas that actively carries out executions. In contrast, over two-thirds of the world’s nations have now abolished the death penalty, either in law or in practice.

Russia maintains the death penalty in its laws but has observed a moratorium on executions since 1996. A recent poll revealed that nearly half of Russians now support its reinstatement. However, lawmakers have argued that such a move would be legally unfeasible due to the ban being imposed by the Constitutional Court, whose decisions are not subject to reversal.