The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced the return of federal executions in the United States, authorizing the Department of Justice (DoJ) to carry out death sentences once inmates on death row have exhausted all legal appeals.
According to reports, the Justice Department is reinstating the lethal injection protocol used during Trump’s first term while also expanding execution methods to include the firing squad. Internal procedures are also being reviewed and adjusted to speed up death penalty cases.
U.S. officials said the move is aimed at deterring violent crimes, ensuring justice for victims, and providing closure for families affected by serious criminal acts.
Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the decision follows President Trump’s directive for the Justice Department to prioritize seeking death sentences in suitable cases and ensure swift enforcement once legal processes are completed.
Blanche also criticized the previous Biden administration, accusing it of weakening the federal death penalty system and failing to fully punish some of the country’s most dangerous offenders, including terrorists, child killers, and those responsible for killing law enforcement officers.
He further alleged that the former administration commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death-row inmates without consulting victims’ families.
In December 2024, former President Joe Biden had reduced the death sentences of 37 inmates to life imprisonment. However, three high-profile cases were excluded, including the Boston Marathon bomber and the Tree of Life Synagogue shooter.
The Trump administration has now officially reversed the Biden-era pause on federal executions and authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty against 44 defendants.
Reports indicate that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has already approved capital punishment proceedings for nine individuals, including three alleged MS-13 gang members accused of killing a federal witness.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has also been directed to restore the execution protocol using pentobarbital as the lethal injection drug, while adding firing squads as an alternative method.
In addition, the Justice Department plans to restrict clemency petitions from death-row inmates until courts conclude direct appeals and initial post-conviction reviews.
Since the federal death penalty was restored in 1988, the U.S. government has executed 16 inmates by lethal injection — three under President George W. Bush and 13 during Trump’s first term between July 2020 and January 2021.
