President Donald Trump signed a significant executive order on Monday to bolster the death penalty in the United States. The order directs the attorney general to take “all necessary and lawful action” to ensure states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions effectively.
The announcement came just hours after Trump returned to the White House. The directive also calls on the Justice Department to actively pursue the death penalty in appropriate federal cases and assist states struggling to maintain their execution protocols.
Trump’s move signals a renewed push for federal executions, which were halted in 2021 after a moratorium imposed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland under President Joe Biden. Currently, only three individuals remain on federal death row after Biden commuted the sentences of 37 others to life imprisonment.
The order specifically instructs the attorney general to seek the death penalty in cases involving the killing of law enforcement officers or crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. Trump also directed efforts to challenge Supreme Court rulings that have restricted the ability of federal and state governments to impose capital punishment.
“The government’s most solemn responsibility is to protect its citizens from abhorrent acts,” the order stated. “My administration will not tolerate efforts to weaken laws that authorize capital punishment for those who commit heinous acts of violence against Americans.”
During his first term, Trump’s administration oversaw 13 federal executions, the most under any president in modern U.S. history. Trump has frequently expressed support for expanding the use of capital punishment. While announcing his 2024 campaign, he proposed the death penalty for drug dealers and human traffickers, citing China’s strict policies on drug crimes as an example.
This latest order comes shortly after Garland withdrew the Justice Department’s federal execution protocol. The review had raised concerns about the potential for “unnecessary pain and suffering” associated with single-drug lethal injections using pentobarbital. The protocol, first adopted under Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr, replaced a three-drug cocktail used in the early 2000s.
Trump’s new pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, or interim Attorney General James McHenry III, could reinstate the pentobarbital protocol once Bondi is confirmed by the Senate.
The remaining inmates on federal death row include high-profile offenders such as Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black church members in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Also on death row is Robert Bowers, responsible for killing 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.
The order has sparked immediate debate over the ethics and practicality of reinstating federal executions. Critics argue that capital punishment is outdated and fraught with inequities. Supporters, however, see it as a necessary tool for justice, especially in cases of violent crime.
Trump’s directive highlights his continued focus on law and order, a theme central to his political identity. As the 2024 election approaches, this move could further energize his base while reigniting national discussions over the death penalty.
The issue remains polarizing, with some states halting executions amid legal and logistical challenges, while others actively pursue them. Trump’s latest action reinforces his commitment to reinstating the death penalty as a federal priority.
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