On July 25th, 2019, after nearly two decades, the Federal Government announced the federal death penalty would restart. The U.S. Department of Justice announced its intent to adopt a new federal execution protocol using a single execution drug and has issued death warrants setting execution dates for five federal death-row prisoners. Dustin Lee Honken was issued the execution date of Janaury 15, 2020. On November 20th, 2019, a federal judge in Washington, DC temporarily halted all five federal executions pending completion of court challenges to the government's execution process.