DOJ reinstates firing squads, pentobarbital for federal executions

Politics DOJ reinstates firing squads, pentobarbital for federal executions By Jacob Rosen Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump's 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Read Full Bio Jacob Rosen April 24, 2026 / 1:01 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The Justice Department announced on Friday that it would reimplement lethal injection and firing squads as part of the Trump administration's efforts to "strengthen" the federal death penalty. "Among the actions taken are readopting the lethal injection protocol utilized during the first Trump Administration, expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution such as the firing squad, and streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases," the Justice Department said in a press release. The department went on to say these measures would be "critical to deterring the most barbaric crimes, delivering justice for victims, and providing long-overdue closure to surviving loved ones."President Trump, on the first day of his second administration, signed an executive order directing the death penalty to be pursued "for all crimes of a severity demanding its use," and demanded the attorney general seek the death penalty in cases involving the murder of a law enforcement officer and capital crimes committed by illegal immigrants present in the U.S.During his first term, Mr. Trump restarted federal executions after nearly a 20-year pause. In 2021, President Joe Biden instituted a moratorium on executions so it could review policies and procedures.  At the end of his term, Biden granted clemency to 37 of the 40 federal inmates facing death sentences, commuting their sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole.The three inmates who didn't receive clemency were the man con...