US to allow firing squads, gas, and electrocution for federal executions

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has directed federal prisons to expand the range of methods used for executions to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation and electrocution.The department said in a 48-page memo released on Friday that this will "strengthen" the death penalty, "deterring the most barbaric crimes, delivering justice for victims and providing long-overdue closure to surviving loved ones".The previous administration had placed a moratorium on most federal executions. Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden gave clemency to 37 of the 40 federal death row prisoners.President Donald Trump directed the DOJ to resume seeking executions on his first day in office last year.The memo also defends the use of lethal injection, calling the drug pentobarbital "the gold standard of lethal injection drugs". It has been the default means for federal executions since 1993 but has faced criticism by campaigners as being a cruel means of execution, while there have been challenges in recent years in sourcing the drug. Broadening the means of executions "will help ensure the department is prepared to carry out lawful executions even if a specific drug is unavailable", the DOJ said in an accompanying report.Trump is a long-time supporter of the death penalty. In his first term, he ended a 20-year moratorium on executions committed by the Federal Government. Thirteen death row inmates were executed during that term.