The Trump administration announced Friday it will authorize firing squads as a federally permitted method of execution, deepening its effort to revive the death penalty and underscoring a sharp divide with Pope Leo XIV and recent Catholic teaching. Hours after the Justice Department made its announcement, the pontiff condemned capital punishment as an attack on human dignity.
In a prerecorded video message shared with DePaul University in Chicago to mark the 15th anniversary of Illinois’ abolition of the death penalty, Pope Leo XIV said the Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves protection. “We affirm that the dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed,” Leo said.
Earlier the same day, aboard the papal plane, the pope condemned executions carried out by Iran’s government when asked about those cases. The timing highlighted a widening rift between the Trump administration and Catholic leaders, who have also opposed the administration’s immigration tactics, including widespread arrests of undocumented immigrants. In February, U.S. bishops filed an amicus brief contesting the administration’s position on birthright citizenship.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is also reauthorizing lethal injection using the sedative pentobarbital, which was withdrawn by the Biden administration after a government review found the injection may cause unnecessary pain and suffering. The changes reflect a broader presidential directive from Trump, who since returning to office has ordered the Justice Department to prioritize pursuing and carrying out death sentences.
The pentobarbital protocol was originally developed during Trump’s first term, when the federal death penalty was reintroduced under then-Attorney General Bill Barr. The current DOJ report pushes back on the Biden administration’s review, arguing pentobarbital renders a prisoner unconscious rapidly enough to prevent pain.
The Death Penalty Information Center notes five states currently permit firing squads: Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah.
Only three prisoners remain on federal death row after former President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 condemned inmates to life in prison during his final days in office. Those three are Dylann Roof, who murdered nine parishioners at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing; and Robert Bowers, who killed 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018.
Despite the reduced federal roster, the Trump administration has moved to seek death sentences against 44 defendants. Executions have risen from 25 in 2024 to 47 in 2025, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, with much of the increase occurring in Florida, which accounted for 19 of the 47 executions.