DOJ Authorizes Firing Squad Executions for Death Penalty & Lakers Fall Short of Sweep

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🗓️ 28 April 2026

⏱️ 8 minutes

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Summary

The Justice Department is now authorizing firing squads as a method of execution, marking a major shift in federal death penalty policy. The method has rarely been used in modern U.S. history, with only three executions carried out this way since the 1970s. The move is part of a broader push to expand and speed up capital punishment under the Trump administration. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says the policy supports victims, while critics, like Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, Professor at Brooklyn Law School and Robin Maher, Executive Director at Death Penalty Information Center, pushback against the move and argue it’s a reaction to prior efforts to limit executions. And the Lakers failed to sweep the Houston Rockets in Game 4 of the first round playoff series. The Rockets capitalized on the excessive turnovers from the Lakers and a poor performance from Lebron James. The Lakers are coming back home for Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead, where they will face the Rockets with Kevin Durant back on the roster without key players like Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves. Read more at https://LATimes.com

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0:00.0	This is an LA Times Studios podcast.
0:05.0	This is firing squads in the United States was rare.
0:15.0	Since the 1970s, only three people were executed using the method,
0:19.0	all in the state of Utah, according to the
0:21.9	death penalty information center. But the Justice Department is now authorizing firing
0:27.1	squads as a method for executing prisoners. Based on what I know from South Carolina,
0:34.3	there are three individuals, I believe that were involved in the firing squad.
0:40.5	Their identity is hidden. The person or the people carrying out the firing, their identity is hidden
0:49.2	with some sort of curtain. The actual weapons are usually not visible from those witnessing.
0:59.0	Typically, one of the people involved has a blank in their weapon, but they don't know. So none of
1:05.5	those who participate know if they are firing the lethal shot. The incarcerated person who's condemned to die,
1:13.0	typically their face is covered. And then there's sort of a bull's eye on their chest or their heart.
1:21.9	The move is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to expand and speed up capital punishment cases.
1:29.5	This is the first time the federal government has formally added firing squads to its execution
1:34.7	protocols, even though five states already allow the method. Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma,
1:41.3	South Carolina, and Utah. In announcing this move, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
1:46.8	said this, quote, under President Trump's leadership, the Department of Justice is once again
1:52.4	enforcing the law in standing with victims. Alexis Hogue Forger, professor and co-director of the
1:58.8	Center for Criminal Justice at the Brooklyn Law School,
2:01.8	says the report seems to be a major reaction to the Biden administration.
2:06.6	In the 48-page report, I mean, maybe the most sort of newsworthy bit is about firing squad
2:13.6	and a desire to bring that back as a method of execution for the federal government.
	...

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