New regulations in the USA
Trump increases the death penalty at the federal level
Updated April 25, 2026 – 9:48 a.mReading time: 1 min.
Trump enacts new regulations on the death penalty at the federal level. The Ministry of Justice will also allow firing squads in the future.
The Justice Department of US President Donald Trump is tightening the regulations on the death penalty at the federal level and will also allow firing squads in the future. The measures announced on Friday also include the reintroduction of the procedural rules for lethal injection from Trump’s first term in office. This was announced by Justice Minister Todd Blanche.
Attorney General Blanche said of the decision: “The previous administration neglected its duty to protect the American people by refusing to prosecute and impose the maximum sentence on the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers and police killers.”
The minister also approved the request for the death penalty against nine people. The department had previously lifted a moratorium on federal executions imposed under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.
The federal death penalty applies in all 50 states and US territories, but is used comparatively rarely. Trump resumed it during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021 after a break of almost 20 years. Five states – Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah – already allow shootings.
