Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has lifted a Biden-era moratorium on capital punishment and reinstated firing squads as a federal method of execution.
Firing squad executions, carried out as recently as last year at the state level, are now back on the table for federal death row prisoners in addition to lethal injection, which was last utilized in the final days of President Donald Trump’s first term.
A Justice Department statement on Friday said it was also “streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases” and that Blanche has authorized seeking capital sentences against nine people.
Blanche replaced former Attorney General Pam Bondi after Trump fired her on April 2. Sources tell CNN that Blanche, despite his label as “acting” attorney general, is auditioning for the position full-time. As of Tuesday, CNN writes that “the job appears to be his to lose.”
In a Friday statement, Blanche hit all the things the White House likely wanted to see—criticizing former President Joe Biden and praising Trump.
“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,” he continued.
Death by firing squad has been revisited at the state level in recent years due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs in the United States—an issue stemming in part from European pharmaceutical companies refusing to supply them.
The DOJ justified its readoption of the execution method by writing that it will deter future crimes.
“These steps are critical to deterring the most barbaric crimes, delivering justice for victims, and providing long-overdue closure to surviving loved ones,” the DOJ’s statement said Friday.
Among Trump’s flurry of day-one executive orders on Jan. 20, 2025, was to compel the DOJ to prioritize seeking death sentences and to promptly carry them out. To this point, there have been no executions in MAGA 2.0.
The DOJ called out its Biden-era leader, Merrick Garland, by name in its latest statement.
“The Biden Justice Department, under Attorney General Merrick Garland, broke sharply from its longstanding approach to capital crimes and took extraordinary steps to weaken, delay, and dismantle the death penalty,” the DOJ wrote.
Biden left three convicted killers behind when he announced he was commuting the sentences of 37 Death Row prisoners in the final months of his presidency. Those whose sentences remain are the Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; the Mother Emanuel AME Church gunman Dylann Roof; and the Tree of Life Pittsburgh killer Robert Bowers.
The department released a lengthy report on Friday, complete with Blanche’s headshot on its third page, detailing the reinstatement of firing squads. The report suggested that firing squads will be used if drugs for lethal injections are not available.
“This modification will help ensure the Department is prepared to carry out lawful executions even if a specific drug is unavailable,” the DOJ report said. “The additional manners of execution that BOP should consider adopting include the firing squad, electrocution, and lethal gas—each of which the Supreme Court has found to be consistent with the Eighth Amendment.”
