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Tags: firing squads | history | executions | civilians | department of justice

Firing Squads Signal Shift in US Justice

Protester Bucky Bruce holds a sign outside the Department of Corrections on April 11, 2025, in Columbia, S.C., before the firing-squad execution of inmate Mikal Mahdi, who was sentenced to die for the murder of a police officer in 2004. (Getty Images) 

By    |   Tuesday, 05 May 2026 07:25 AM EDT

The federal government has never used a firing squad to execute a civilian, but that could soon change.

Following the lead of Utah, South Carolina, and several other states, the Justice Department announced April 24 that it will allow firing squads for federal executions, a method that in American history dates to the 1600s but has only been used by the military to execute deserters.

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The federal government has never used a firing squad to execute a civilian, but that could soon change.
firing squads, history, executions, civilians, department of justice
1022
2026-25-05
Tuesday, 05 May 2026 07:25 AM
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