HR-8922-119
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsored by Tim Burchett (R-TN)
What it does
This bill would amend federal law (18 U.S.C. § 3596) to explicitly authorize two methods of execution for federal death sentences: lethal injection and hanging. It would also require the U.S. Marshals Service, in consultation with the Attorney General and qualified medical and correctional officials, to establish written execution protocols within 180 days of enactment. The Attorney General would be required to update the relevant federal regulations within the same timeframe.
Who benefits
Federal prosecutors and the Department of Justice, who would gain a clearer statutory basis for carrying out death sentences when lethal injection drugs are unavailable or legally challenged. States that have faced execution delays due to drug supply shortages may benefit indirectly from a federal model. Victims' families who support execution of sentenced individuals may benefit from reduced procedural delays. Suppliers of execution equipment who would see expanded demand.
Who is hurt
The approximately 40 individuals currently on federal death row, who would face an expanded set of execution methods. Defense attorneys and civil liberties organizations that have used lethal injection drug litigation as a tool to delay or prevent executions. Medical professionals who may face pressure to participate in executions despite ethical prohibitions from major medical associations. Pharmaceutical companies that have sought to prevent their drugs from being used in executions, whose leverage would be reduced if hanging becomes a viable alternative.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that lethal injection has been repeatedly delayed or blocked due to drug shortages and pharmaceutical company restrictions, leaving valid death sentences unenforceable for years. They contend that hanging is a historically established method with a long record of use in the United States, and that explicitly codifying permissible methods in statute — rather than leaving them to regulatory discretion — provides legal clarity and reduces the litigation that has stalled federal executions. They point to the fact that several states, including Washington and New Hampshire, have retained or recently authorized hanging as a backup method.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that hanging carries a significant risk of painful, prolonged death if not performed with precise technique — including the risk of decapitation or slow asphyxiation — and that this raises serious Eighth Amendment concerns about cruel and unusual punishment. They contend that the Supreme Court's proportionality jurisprudence requires the government to minimize unnecessary pain, and that reintroducing a 19th-century method without robust evidence of humane implementation fails that standard. They further argue that the bill's 180-day protocol requirement provides insufficient time to develop and validate procedures that meet constitutional minimums.
Constitutional context
The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. In Baze v. Rees (2008) and Glossip v. Gross (2015), the Supreme Court upheld lethal injection protocols but established that a method presenting a "substantial risk of serious harm" is unconstitutional. Hanging's constitutionality under this standard — particularly its risk of painful death if improperly administered — is the central legal question this bill would raise, though the Court has not directly ruled on hanging as a modern federal execution method.
Checks and balances
The executive branch (DOJ and U.S. Marshals Service) gains authority to implement and choose between execution methods; Congress sets the permissible methods by statute; federal courts retain authority to review specific protocols under the Eighth Amendment.
Historical precedent
Hanging was the standard method of federal execution until the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994 and subsequent regulations shifted to lethal injection; several states have more recently re-authorized hanging as a backup method when lethal injection drugs are unavailable.