US to Resume Federal Capital Punishment, Starting With Executions of Five Murderers

The Federal Bureau of Prisons to resume capital punishment.

The gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where Texas' condemned are strapped down to receive a lethal dose of drugs. Pat Sullivan/File Photo via AP

The federal government is resuming capital punishment after a pause of nearly 20 years.

Attorney General William Barr said in a July 25 announcement that he has directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to adopt an addendum to federal protocol, which will clear the way for the U.S. government to resume capital punishment.