The United States Department of Justice has announced a sweeping return to aggressive enforcement of the death penalty, including the reintroduction of firing squads and lethal injection, marking a sharp reversal of policies under the previous Biden administration.
In a statement released on Friday, the department said it has taken steps to restore its duty to implement lawful capital punishment, paving the way for executions of death row inmates who have exhausted their appeals.
The move comes under the direct directive of President Donald Trump, who on his first day in office ordered the Justice Department to prioritise the pursuit and enforcement of death sentences in appropriate cases.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the previous administration of failing Americans by refusing to pursue capital punishment against what he described as the most dangerous criminals.
“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, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” Blanche said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice is once again enforcing the law and standing with victims.”
The announcement marks a direct reversal of the moratorium on federal executions imposed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland under President Joe Biden.
The current Justice Department described that moratorium as based on a deeply flawed analysis that raised concerns over the use of pentobarbital in lethal injections.
Officials also criticised the Biden administration for declining to seek the death penalty in several high profile violent cases involving mass shootings, child murder and the killing of law enforcement officers. Particularly controversial was the commutation of sentences for 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates, a move the current Justice Department said was carried out without adequate consultation with victims’ families.
As part of the renewed policy, the department has rescinded the moratorium on federal executions and authorised prosecutors to seek the death penalty against at least 44 defendants. Blanche has personally approved capital punishment in nine of those cases, including against alleged members of the MS-13 gang accused of murdering a federal witness.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has been directed to reinstate the lethal injection protocol, expand execution methods to include the firing squad, and explore options for constructing new execution sites capable of handling multiple execution methods.
The department also released a report titled Restoring and Strengthening the Federal Death Penalty, concluding that the use of pentobarbital complies with the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
Internal processes are also set to be streamlined to accelerate death penalty cases, with proposed rules expected to speed up federal habeas corpus reviews and significantly reduce the time between conviction and execution.
The announcement is expected to reignite fierce debate across the United States, where capital punishment remains one of the most divisive issues in the criminal justice system, with critics raising longstanding concerns over wrongful convictions, racial disparities and the ethics of state sanctioned executions.