‘It’s Better!’: Bill Maher Applauds DOJ Move To Bring Back Firing Squad Executions

Bill Maher voiced support for the Justice Department’s decision to bring back firing squads as a federal execution method.

“It’s better,” Maher said during the overtime segment of Friday’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” according to a video posted on X. He argued firing squads produce instant death compared to the chemical process currently in use. “A firing squad, they’re dead in a second,” Maher said. He criticized lethal injection as slow and prone to failure, adding, “half the time the sh*t they put in you doesn’t work.” (RELATED: Department Of Justice Adds Firing Squad As Method For Federal Execution)

Panelist Sarah Isgur agreed and offered a constitutional defense, arguing the method does not violate the 8th Amendment since similar practices existed at the nation’s founding. She also took aim at what she described as the sanitization of capital punishment in American life. “We should do a firing squad so that people know what we’re doing,” Isgur said during the episode, which also featured Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Chris Cuomo. Maher initially pushed back with humor but conceded, “if you’re going to do it, that’s the way.”

💥NEW: Bill Maher *PRAISES* Trump Admin for bringing back firing squads for executions💥

“It’s BETTER!” pic.twitter.com/2k4a1W1sRr

— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) April 25, 2026

The discussion followed the DOJ’s Friday announcement that it would add firing squads to its approved execution methods, according to the department’s official press release. “The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.

Five states already permit firing squads under certain conditions, the Associated Press reported. No federal execution has ever been carried out by firing squad. Pharmaceutical manufacturers have increasingly refused to sell drugs used in lethal injections, partly due to European Union prohibitions, pushing several states to explore alternatives, Reuters reported.

Three inmates currently sit on federal death row after former President Joe Biden converted 37 death sentences to life in prison before leaving office, CBS News reported. The Trump administration has authorized pursuing capital punishment against 44 defendants, according to the DOJ.