In brief
Following a series of botched lethal‑injection executions, the United States has begun re‑authorising old and new death‑penalty methods. The Army announced a live broadcast of former Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan’s firing‑squad execution—the first of its kind since 1945—while states increasingly legalise nitrogen‑gas and electric‑chair executions. Experts argue that every method can inflict pain, and medical bodies refuse participation. The move coincides with President Trump’s 2025 re‑instatement of the federal death penalty and renewed calls for harsher punishment for violent offenders.
The United States has once again turned to its most controversial execution methods after a string of botched lethal‑injection deaths. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that the Army will livestream the execution of former Fort Hood soldier Nidal Hasan by firing squad—a method last used in 1945 and illegal in the civilian system for over 70 years.
Hasan, who fired 13 unarmed U.S. soldiers in a 2009 shooting, is scheduled for a three‑man firing squad on a military base in Texas. The decision follows a national review of execution methods after the failed lethal‑injection of convicted murderer Christa Pike, who emerged from a hospital bed only to be returned to prison after a botched death attempt that caused her to cry and gasp loudly on camera.
The move reflects a broader shift toward older and newer execution techniques amid growing criticism of lethal injection. States and the federal government are re‑authorising firing squads, the electric chair, and nitrogen‑gas suffocation—methods that each carry notable histories of human error and cruelty.
Nitrogen‑gas executions began in Alabama in 2024 after an aborted lethal‑injection, and the state has now executed seven people using the gas. The process supposedly delivers painless death, but witnesses reported violent thrashing and seizures during the 25‑minute ordeal of the first gas execution.
In addition to nitrogen, nine U.S. states authorise electric‑chair executions, with South Carolina adopting it as a default method. Historically, electrocution has produced spectacular botches, such as the 1997 fatal electric‑chair ceremony where a condemned man’s head burst into flame, a scene that sparked widespread outrage.
Medical associations from the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association reject any participation in executions, citing the conflict between the oath to preserve life and the act of ending it. Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiology professor, warned that lethal injection appears “peaceful” only on the surface, noting that pulmonary oedema can cause the victim to feel like drowning.
The resurgence of firing squads and alternative methods also coincides with President Trump’s 2025 campaign to expand the federal death penalty after a moratorium ended in 2021. Trump’s executive order brands capital punishment as “essential” for deterring heinous crimes, while state legislators rapidly re‑legalise the older and newer means of execution.
