DOJ authorizes firing squads, electrocution, and nitrogen gas for federal executions

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo authorizing the Bureau of Prisons to add firing squads, electrocution, and nitrogen gas asphyxiation as alternative federal execution methods, alongside existing lethal injection protocols. The memo cited the need to ensure executions could proceed even if specific drugs became unavailable. Blanche also authorized DOJ prosecutors to seek the death penalty in nine new cases after President Trump rescinded the Biden moratorium. The Death Penalty Information Center said DOJ misrepresented American history and law in arguing for the new methods.