Why the US Is Returning to Firing Squads and Electric Chairs
The United States is revisiting older methods of execution, including firing squads and electric chairs, as concerns grow over failed lethal injections and the treatment of death row inmates.
The debate has gained fresh attention following US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement that the military would livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
If carried out, Hasan’s execution by firing squad would mark the US Army’s first use of the method since 1945.
The development comes amid renewed debate over capital punishment after Christa Pike, a Tennessee death row inmate, survived a botched lethal injection attempt. Her lawyers said she was taken to hospital and later returned to prison after recovering.
These developments have drawn attention to the problems surrounding lethal injections and the growing use of alternative execution methods across the country.
Why the US is moving away from lethal injections
Lethal injection became the most common execution method in the United States after Texas first used it in 1982. Authorities initially viewed it as a more peaceful alternative to older methods.
However, medical experts have challenged that assumption.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 64 executions were classified as botched between 1976 and the period covered by its reported figures, including 51 involving lethal injections.
Robin Maher, the organisation’s executive director, attributed some failures to inadequate staff training, expired or improperly stored drugs, and experimental drug combinations.
Obtaining the drugs has also become difficult because some pharmaceutical companies oppose their use in executions.
Medical experts warn that lethal injections can cause severe pain when complications arise. These concerns have encouraged some states to reconsider methods they previously abandoned.
Nitrogen gas and electric chairs return
Some American states have introduced or reauthorised execution methods that had fallen out of favour.
Alabama and Louisiana have carried out executions using nitrogen gas, which forces prisoners to breathe the gas until they suffocate. Arkansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma also authorise the method.
Alabama first used nitrogen gas to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith in January 2024, following an earlier failed lethal injection attempt.
Witnesses reported that Smith struggled violently during the procedure. Medical experts have also raised concerns about seizures and other distressing reactions associated with the method.
Meanwhile, nine states have authorised execution by electric chair, according to the report. South Carolina uses it as its default method.
Electrocution has its own history of botched executions. In 1997, Pedro Medina’s head caught fire during his execution in Florida, prompting renewed scrutiny of the method.
Why firing squads are gaining attention
Firing squads have also returned to the centre of America’s death penalty debate.
Idaho made the method its primary execution option after encountering problems with lethal injections. Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah and South Carolina also authorise firing squads.
However, the method is not free from complications. Mikahl Mahdi, executed by firing squad in South Carolina in 2025, reportedly suffered a prolonged death after bullets struck his liver and other organs instead of his heart, according to his lawyers.
The proposed execution of Hasan would bring the method into renewed focus within the US military.
Alonzo Lunsford, a former Army sergeant who survived Hasan’s 2009 attack, described the firing squad as an appropriate punishment for the convicted killer.
Trump’s role in the renewed death penalty debate
President Donald Trump has also contributed to the renewed focus on capital punishment.
After returning to office in 2025, Trump reinstated the federal government’s support for the death penalty following the moratorium introduced under former President Joe Biden in 2021.
His administration described capital punishment as a tool for deterring and punishing the most serious violent crimes.
Trump has also called for the death penalty to be expanded to cover offences involving large-scale drug trafficking, human trafficking and the killing of police officers.
The renewed federal support, alongside state efforts to authorise alternative execution methods, has intensified the debate over whether the death penalty can be administered humanely.
Although authorities have presented alternative methods as responses to problems with lethal injections, medical experts and death penalty researchers warn that every execution method carries the risk of severe suffering.