---
title: 'Methods of Execution'
subtitle: 'Lethal injection is the most widely-used method of execution, but many states authorize other methods including electrocution, lethal gas, and firing squad.'
description: 'Lethal injection is the most widely-used method of execution, but many states authorize other methods including electrocution, lethal gas, and firing…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/methods-of-execution'
section: topics
date: '2017-11-17T14:10:26-05:00'
updated: '2026-08-26T11:14:44-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

**Overview**
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The primary methods 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 primary method of execution in all states in the modern era may have delayed any judgment by the Court regarding older methods.

Since 2008, the Court has made it more difficult for prisoners to challenge methods of execution as unconstitutional. Beginning with the Court’s decision in *Baze v. Rees* (2008), and most recently in *Bucklew v. Precythe* (2019), it is not enough to show that a method of execution has a “demonstrated risk of severe pain." The prisoner must also identify “an alternative \[method\] that is feasible, readily implemented, and…significantly reduces a substantial risk of severe pain.”

These changes coincided with drug manufacturers’ growing unwillingness to provide the drugs used in lethal injections. As a result, some states now allow the use of alternative methods. Controversies and serious concerns about the methods 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 method** | **Jurisdictions that Authorize** |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Lethal Injection** | 1492 | 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**](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/methods-of-execution/state-by-state-execution-protocols). |
| **Electrocution** | 163 | 9 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. |
| **Gas** | 19 | 9 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 using nitrogen gas. Alabama and Louisiana have issued a protocol for its use. Alabama and Louisiana are the only states that have performed an execution using nitrogen gas. |
| **Firing Squad** | 6 | 5 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, \[Mississippi\], \[Oklahoma\], \[Utah\], \[South Carolina\] |

^Tennessee explicitly authorizes lethal injection and electrocution, but [states](https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-40/chapter-23/section-40-23-114/) that, if those methods are found unconstitutional, prisoners may be executed by any constitutional method of execution. In 2025, Florida and North Carolina authorized any execution method not deemed unconstitutional. In 2025, North Carolina also removed bans on electrocution and lethal gas.