Three-drug lethal injection (etomidate)
Florida's lethal injection method: an anaesthetic, then a paralysing drug, then a drug that stops the heart. Florida is the only state that uses it.
Single-drug lethal injection (pentobarbital)
A single large dose of the sedative pentobarbital. Used by Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, Indiana and several other states, and by the federal government.
Three-drug lethal injection (midazolam)
A sedative, then a paralysing drug, then a drug that stops the heart. Used by Oklahoma and Alabama, and the subject of repeated court challenges.
Nitrogen hypoxia
Death caused by breathing pure nitrogen through a mask, depriving the body of oxygen. First used by Alabama in 2024; ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in 2026.
Firing squad
Death caused by rifle shots aimed at the heart. Used three times in South Carolina in 2025, the primary method in Idaho since July 2026, and ordered for the military execution of Nidal Hasan.
Electrocution (electric chair)
Death caused by an electric current passed through the body. Still authorised in nine states, and the default method in South Carolina. Last used in 2020.
Other methods still in law
A few states still authorise two older methods as backups, although neither has been used in decades. Lethal gas (the gas chamber) has been used in 11 executions since 1976, the last in Arizona in 1999. Hanging has been used three times since 1976, the last in Delaware in 1996. Both remain on the books mainly as alternatives if other methods are unavailable or ruled unconstitutional.