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 Injection1436

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 Gas169 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 Squad55 states (in South Carolina, elec­tro­cu­tion is the default method; the oth­er states have lethal injec­tion as primary method)[Mississippi], [Oklahoma], [Utah], [South Carolina], [Idaho]

^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

May 05, 2025

Federal Judge in Idaho Orders Department of Corrections Must Allow Greater Media Access to Executions

On April 29, 2025, U.S. District Judge Debora K. Grasham ordered the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) to give media wit­ness­es to an exe­cu­tion​“audio and visu­al access to the prepa­ra­tion and admin­is­tra­tion of the lethal injec­tion drugs.” The rul­ing stems from a December 2024 law­suit filed by the Associated Press, The Idaho Statesman, and East Idaho News, which argued that media out­lets were being uncon­sti­tu­tion­al­ly pro­hib­it­ed from view­ing​“key steps” in Idaho’s…

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News

Mar 19, 2025

Louisiana Resumes Executions After 15-Year Hiatus with First Nitrogen Gas Execution

After a series of last-minute legal chal­lenges, cul­mi­nat­ing with a denial of stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, Louisiana exe­cut­ed Jessie Hoffman on March 18, 2025. Mr. Hoffman’s exe­cu­tion marked both the state’s first exe­cu­tion in 15 years and the state’s first exe­cu­tion using nitro­gen gas — only the sec­ond state to use this new method. State offi­cials acknowl­edged that Mr. Hoffman exhib­it­ed​“con­vul­sive activ­i­ty” as he inhaled nitro­gen gas through a mask while…

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News

Mar 18, 2025

Nine Tennessee Death Row Prisoners Challenge State’s One-Drug Lethal Injection Protocol, Citing ​“High Risk of Torturous Death”

On March 14, 2025, a group of nine death row pris­on­ers in Tennessee filed a law­suit chal­leng­ing the state’s sole use of pen­to­bar­bi­tal in its revised lethal injec­tion pro­to­col, argu­ing it cre­ates a​“high risk of a tor­tur­ous death.” In December 2024, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) com­plet­ed a mul­ti-year lethal injec­tion pro­to­col review and announced that instead of the pre­vi­ous three-drug pro­to­col, the state would shift to rely on just one drug:…

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Five vials of clear liquid, varying sizes. One is on its side with a syringe in it.

News

Mar 17, 2025

Idaho Governor Signs Legislation Authorizing Firing Squad as State’s Primary Execution Method

On March 12, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little (pic­tured) signed House Bill 37 into law, mak­ing the fir­ing squad the state’s pri­ma­ry method of exe­cu­tion. In a state­ment to Catholic News Agency, Gov. Little said,​“I have long made clear my sup­port of cap­i­tal punishment…My sign­ing of [this bill] is con­sis­tent with my sup­port of the Idaho Legislature’s actions in set­ting the poli­cies around meth­ods of exe­cu­tion in the state of Idaho.” The bill, which takes effect on July 1,…

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News

Mar 12, 2025

Courts Put Upcoming Texas, Louisiana Executions on Hold

On March 11, in sep­a­rate deci­sions, a fed­er­al court in Louisiana and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) stayed the upcom­ing exe­cu­tions of David Wood (sched­uled for exe­cu­tion in Texas on March 13) and Jessie Hoffman (sched­uled for exe­cu­tion in Louisiana on March 18). In Mr. Wood’s case, the TCCA grant­ed a stay of exe­cu­tion to allow the state more time to address the eight claims Mr. Wood assert­ed in his state habeas claim. In Mr. Hoffman’s case, the U.S. District Court for the Middle…

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