New DOJ Execution Amendment Expands U.S. Execution Methods
The Department of Justice has quietly amended current execution protocols. The amended rule was published Friday, November, 27th and will go into effect on December 24.
Different states currently allow different types of executions, and with the amendment, lethal injections will no longer have to be the primary method of execution. The new ruling will potentially pave the way for executions to be carried out through firing squads, electrocutions, poison gas, and hanging.
The amendment will allow the U.S. government to go through with executions in “any other manner prescribed by the law of the state in which the sentence was imposed,” as described by the Federal Death Penalty Act.
Justice Department officials stated that some states use other methods instead of lethal injection and that the amendment accounts for the flexibility stipulated in the Federal Death Penalty Act. The broadening of execution choice by state will also help alleviate the strain of obtaining the lethal injections as they have been harder to come by. The shortage of lethal injections is a result of manufactures not wanting their drugs associated with executions.
A Justice Department official who wished to remain anonymous shared with the AP in defense of the amendment that “ will never execute an inmate by firing squad or electrocution unless the relevant state has itself authorized that method of execution.”
Political Response
The new amendment is expected to draw criticism from Democrats and other advocacy groups who oppose the death penalty. A spokesperson for the incoming Biden administration shared, “ opposes the death penalty now and in the future,” yet it remains unclear if the Biden administration will stop any scheduled executions once he takes office.
In the transition period between administrations, the Justice Department has scheduled five executions. Three of those are scheduled to take place the week before President-elect Biden takes office. According to an anonymous Justice Department official, two executions scheduled in December will take place using the traditional method of lethal injection.
Federal Executions at an All-Time High
This year, federal executions by the Justice Department under the Trump administration have been higher than in the past five decades combined. After a 17-year hiatus, Attorney General William Barr restarted federal executions despite the decline in support from both Democrats and Republicans.
The executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), Robert Dunham, expressed that “ have no parallel in modern American history and are out of step with both with the historical practices of past presidents, both Republican and Democratic, and the current practices of U.S. states.”
It is unclear how executions under the Biden administration’s Justice Department will look. The President-elect did, however, campaign to end the death penalty at the federal level. Several polls of the public's opinion on the death penalty show that the practice has become an unpopular one across various demographics.
The Current Landscape of Execution Methods
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, executions and how they are carried out vary by state. Currently, execution types are as follows,
- 32 states, the U.S. Military, and the U.S. Government allow execution by lethal injection
- 9 states allow execution by electrocution
- 11 states allow execution by lethal gas
- Delaware, New Hampshire, and Washington state allow execution by hanging
- Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah allow execution by firing squad.
Some states, including Florida, Washington, and prisoners sentenced before May 2004 in Utah can choose how they would like to be executed (according to the execution methods available in that state).
All states have lethal injection as the primary option. However, after a botched Oklahoma execution in 2014, the Justice Department took a closer look at the then three-drug lethal injection procedure. After Attorney General Barr stated the review of capital punishments initiated by the Obama administration was complete, a one-drug procedure was established using a lethal injection of pentobarbital.
