The United States is reconsidering the firing squad as a method of capital punishment, as ongoing drug shortages and ethical objections from the medical community have made lethal injections increasingly difficult to administer. Proponents, including legal scholars such as John Malcolm of the Meese Institute (a conservative US policy organisation), argue that reverting to older execution methods may be more reliable and legally defensible. The debate reflects broader tensions in the US justice system over how — and whether — the death penalty can be carried out humanely.