The US Department of Justice is quietly amending its execution protocols, no longer requiring federal death sentences to be carried out by lethal injection and clearing the way to use other methods like firing squads and poison gas.
The amended rule, published on Friday in the US government’s Federal Register, allows the US government to conduct executions by lethal injection or use “any other manner prescribed by the law of the state in which the sentence was imposed.” A number of states allow other methods of execution, including electrocution, inhaling nitrogen gas or death by firing squad.
It remains unclear whether the justice department would seek to use any methods other than lethal injection for executions. The rule — which goes into effect on Dec. 24 — comes as the department has scheduled five executions during the lame-duck period, including three just days before US president-elect Joe Biden takes office.
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A department official said that the change was made to account for the Federal Death Penalty Act’s requirement that requires sentences be carried out in the “in the manner prescribed by the law of the state in which the sentence is imposed,” and some of those states use methods other than lethal injection.
The federal government “will never execute an inmate by firing squad or electrocution unless the relevant state has itself authorized that method of execution,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Two executions scheduled for next month would be done by lethal injection, the official said without providing information about three others scheduled for January.
The change is likely to set off intense criticism from Democrats and anti-death penalty advocates, as US President Donald Trump’s administration tries to push through a number of rule changes before he leaves office.
A spokesperson for Biden earlier this month said that the president-elect “opposes the death penalty now and in the future,” and would work to end its use, but did not say whether executions would be paused immediately once Biden takes office.
US Attorney General William Barr restarted federal executions this year after a 17-year hiatus.
The US Department of Justice this year has put to death more people than during the previous half-century, despite waning public support from Democrats and Republicans for its use.
All states that use the death penalty allow lethal injection — and that is the primary method in all states where other methods are allowed, according to data compiled by the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.
As lethal injection drugs become difficult to obtain, some states have begun looking at alternative methods for carrying out death sentences. Alabama joined Oklahoma and Mississippi in 2018 approving the use of nitrogen gas to execute prisoners, allowing the state to asphyxiate condemned inmates with the gas in some cases.
In some states, inmates can choose the method of their execution. In Florida, for example, an inmate can specifically ask to be put to death by electrocution and in Washington state, inmates can ask to be put to death by hanging.
In Utah, prisoners sentenced before May 2004 can choose to be killed by a firing squad. The state law there also authorizes the use of a firing squad if lethal injection drugs are not available.
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