A controversial new bill passed in Florida is raising alarm among legal experts and human rights advocates, as it opens the door for Death Row inmates to be executed using methods such as hanging or even beheading.
The legislation, known as HB 903, grants state officials permission to employ any execution method not explicitly ruled unconstitutional.
While Florida already permits the use of lethal injection and the electric chair, the bill significantly broadens the state’s authority over how capital punishment can be carried out.
Advocates warn this shift could mark a return to brutal execution practices, particularly amid a rise in executions and growing concern over botched procedures.
In a statement condemning the bill, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) said (via the Daily Star): “Governor DeSantis signed HB 903, a bill that recklessly expands Florida’s execution methods without providing clear guardrails, oversight, or transparency.”
Maria DeLiberato, executive director of FADP and a veteran death penalty lawyer, said Florida’s history of botched executions should serve as a warning. “We have a long record of disastrous outcomes, including electrocutions that literally set prisoners’ heads on fire,” she also told the outlet.
She criticized the bill’s vague language, warning that it could lead to costly litigation and place additional pressure on Florida’s already overburdened justice system. “Florida already has the broadest death penalty statute in the country, with the lowest bar for imposing capital punishment and the most qualifying crimes,” she added.
As of July 31, Florida is preparing for its ninth execution of the year, more than any other U.S. state in 2025. According to UK-based human rights group Reprieve, the U.S. has carried out 26 executions so far this year, already surpassing totals from 2024 and 2023. The Death Pentalty Information Center says that there are 11 more executions scheduled this year alone.
Reprieve has also accused the U.S. government of sourcing drugs for lethal injections from the black market, as pharmaceutical companies increasingly refuse to allow their products to be used in executions. Former death row attorney Clive Stafford Smith said many states are turning to unregulated suppliers to bypass restrictions.
DeLiberato echoed those concerns, calling lethal injection “one of the most deceptive and cruel” methods of execution.
Meanwhile, retired Florida capital defense attorney Christopher Quarles warned that the reintroduction of methods like hanging is not far-fetched. “It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “When it comes to the death penalty, Florida can be extremely reactionary.”
The bill’s passage has sparked renewed debate over the ethics, legality, and future of capital punishment in the U.S., and particularly in Florida, a state now leading the nation in executions.
