Executions

Methods of Execution

Lethal injection is the most widely-used method of execution, but many states authorize other methods including electrocution, lethal gas, and firing squad.

Overview

The pri­ma­ry means of exe­cu­tion in the U.S. have been hang­ing, elec­tro­cu­tion, the gas cham­ber, fir­ing squad, and lethal injec­tion. The Supreme Court has nev­er found a method of exe­cu­tion to be uncon­sti­tu­tion­al, though some meth­ods have been declared uncon­sti­tu­tion­al by state courts. The pre­dom­i­nance of lethal injec­tion as the pre­ferred means of exe­cu­tion in all states in the mod­ern era may have put off any judg­ment by the Court regard­ing older methods.

Because of a resis­tance by drug man­u­fac­tur­ers to pro­vide the drugs typ­i­cal­ly used in lethal injec­tions, some states now allow the use of alter­na­tive meth­ods if lethal injec­tion can­not be per­formed. Controversies sur­round­ing the method to be used have delayed exe­cu­tions in many states, con­tribut­ing to an over­all decline in the use of the death penalty.

Authorized Methods

NOTE: [Brackets] around a state indi­cate that the state autho­rizes the list­ed method as an alter­na­tive method if oth­er meth­ods are found to be uncon­sti­tu­tion­al or are unavailable/​impractical. 
 

Method# of exe­cu­tions by method since 1976# of states autho­riz­ing methodJurisdictions that Authorize
Lethal Injection1470

28 states+ and U.S. Military and U.S. Gov’t

In South Carolina, lethal injec­tion may be elect­ed as an alter­na­tive method, if available.

+includes 1 state that no longer have an active death penalty

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida^, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire*, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, [South Carolina], South Dakota, Tennessee^, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, U.S. Military, U.S. Government

*New Hampshire abol­ished the death penal­ty but the repeal may not apply retroac­tive­ly, leav­ing a pris­on­er on death row fac­ing possible execution.

To find the drug pro­to­cols used by states, see State-by-State Lethal Injection.

Electrocution1639 states (in South Carolina, elec­tro­cu­tion is the default method; the oth­er 8 have lethal injec­tion as default method).

[Alabama], [Arkansas], Florida, Kentucky, [Louisiana], [Mississippi], [Oklahoma], South Carolina, [Tennessee]

The supreme courts of Georgia (2001) and Nebraska (2008) have ruled that the use of the elec­tric chair vio­lates their state con­sti­tu­tion­al pro­hi­bi­tions against cru­el and unusual punishment.

Virginia had autho­rized the elec­tric chair as a method of exe­cu­tion in some cas­es, but it repealed the death penal­ty in March 2021.

Lethal Gas199 states (all have lethal injec­tion as default method)

[Alabama], Arkansas, Arizona, California, [Louisiana], [Mississippi], Missouri, [Oklahoma], [Wyoming]

Five states (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma) specif­i­cal­ly autho­rize exe­cu­tion by nitro­gen hypox­ia. Alabama and Louisiana have issued a pro­to­col for its use. Alabama and Louisiana are the only states that have per­formed an exe­cu­tion by nitrogen hypoxia.

Firing Squad65 states (in Idaho, fir­ing squad will be the pri­ma­ry method eff. July 2026; in South Carolina, elec­tro­cu­tion is the default method; the oth­er states have lethal injec­tion as primary method)Idaho, [Mississippi], [Oklahoma], [Utah], [South Carolina]

^Both Florida and Tennessee explic­it­ly autho­rize lethal injec­tion and elec­tro­cu­tion, but state that, if those meth­ods are found uncon­sti­tu­tion­al, pris­on­ers may be exe­cut­ed by any con­sti­tu­tion­al method of execution.

News & Developments

News

Feb 04, 2026

Bipartisan Support Defeats Indiana House Bill to Add Firing Squad as Execution Method

A bipar­ti­san group of 19 Republicans and 28 Democrats nar­row­ly defeat­ed a mea­sure to add the fir­ing squad as an exe­cu­tion method in an Indiana House floor vote on January 28, 2026. HB 1119 received 48 in favor and 47 against, falling three votes short of pas­sage, with two leg­is­la­tors not vot­ing and three absent. Although the mea­sure could have been brought for a sec­ond vote before February 2, it was not. A sim­i­lar Senate bill (SB 11) to add the fir­ing squad stalled in…

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News

Dec 12, 2025

Should Medical Research Regulations and Informed Consent Principles Apply to States’ Use of Experimental Execution Methods?

New drugs and med­ical treat­ments under­go rig­or­ous test­ing to ensure they are safe and effec­tive for pub­lic use. Under fed­er­al and state reg­u­la­tions, this test­ing typ­i­cal­ly involves clin­i­cal tri­als with human sub­jects, who face sig­nif­i­cant health and safe­ty risks as the first peo­ple exposed to exper­i­men­tal treat­ments. That is why the law requires them to be ful­ly informed of the poten­tial effects and give their vol­un­tary con­sent to participate in…

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News

Dec 09, 2025

Roundup of 2025 Legislation to Modify Execution Protocols 

On December 15, 2025, the Death Penalty Information Center will release its annu­al Year End Report detail­ing nation­wide death penal­ty trends, includ­ing exe­cu­tions, new death sen­tences, leg­is­la­tion, pub­lic opin­ion, and the legal chal­lenges in the Supreme Court. This arti­cle high­lights the leg­is­la­tion intro­duced this year to mod­i­fy execution protocols. This year, leg­is­la­tors in more than half of states that retain the death penal­ty pro­posed changes to their…

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News

Nov 18, 2025

Facts About the Death Penalty – Is there a ​“Humane” Execution Method?

Some elect­ed offi­cials and leg­is­la­tors have recent­ly pro­mot­ed some meth­ods of exe­cu­tion as more​“humane” than oth­ers. But every exe­cu­tion method ever used has been shown to car­ry the risk of error and mal­func­tion, with the result that the pris­on­er may expe­ri­ence pain and suf­fer­ing as they are exe­cut­ed. Exactly how much pain and suf­fer­ing the law per­mits is a con­sti­tu­tion­al ques­tion that has evolved with time and society’s beliefs. Methods once viewed as…

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News

Oct 27, 2025

Alabama Execution Witnesses Report ​“Violent Thrashing” of Prisoner and More Than 225 ​“Agonized Breaths” in Nitrogen Gas Execution

On October 23, 2025, Alabama exe­cut­ed Anthony Boyd, despite his unwa­ver­ing claim of inno­cence and a fiery dis­sent authored by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, renew­ing the seri­ous con­cerns that have been con­sis­tent­ly raised about the state’s use of nitro­gen gas. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, dis­sent­ed from the Court’s October 23, 2025, denial of a stay of exe­cu­tion, writ­ing that Alabama’s use of nitro­gen gas​“vio­lates the Constitution…

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