Justice Department to allow firing squads for executions in move to ramp up capital punishment

The Trump administration's Justice Department is adopting firing squad as a permitted execution method and reauthorizing lethal injection drugs while seeking to shorten legal appeals in federal death penalty cases, according to reporting from the AP. This article is sourced from the AP through NPR, a major wire service with strong journalistic standards, though the metadata provided lacks specific details about named DOJ officials or direct quotes that would strengthen attribution. Independent coverage from Reuters, the New York Times, the Guardian, and Al Jazeera corroborates the core facts and adds important context: the administration is expanding execution methods beyond firing squad to include electrocution and gas asphyxiation due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs, and this represents a reversal of Biden-era policies. The reporting uses measured language despite the sensitive subject matter, though the headline's framing of "ramp up" carries slight negative connotation. Watch for forthcoming details on which federal cases will be prioritized for capital prosecution, legal challenges to the new methods, and whether Congress responds with oversight hearings on the expanded execution protocols.