Weeks after former President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of all but three federal death row inmates, President Donald Trump signed a Day One executive order rescinding a Biden-era moratorium on federal executions and requiring judges to follow laws permitting capital punishment.
“Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens,” said President Trump in his executive order.
“Our Founders knew well that only capital punishment can bring justice and restore order in response to such evil. For this and other reasons, capital punishment continues to enjoy broad popular support,” he added.
[RELATED: Biden Commutes Sentences for 37 Death Row Inmates, Including Rapists and Child Killers…]
The order serves to abolish a federal capital punishment moratorium imposed by President Biden in 2021.
In the order, Trump criticized Biden for his decision to pardon 37 federal death row inmates, including murderers, child rapists, and cop killers, and condemned judges and politicians who have worked to help death row inmates avoid their lawfully imposed sentences.
“Politicians and judges who oppose capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws of our country. At every turn, they seek to thwart the execution of lawfully imposed capital sentences and choose to enforce their personal beliefs rather than the law,” said President Trump.
Trump affirmed that his administration will “not tolerate” any efforts to undermine lawfully imposed capital punishments and accused those who seek to undermine it of making a mockery of justice and insulting the victims of death row criminals.
He ordered his attorney general (AG) to pursue the death penalty for all crimes for which it can be legally applied.
The order also instructs the Attorney General to pursue federal jurisdiction and capital punishment for crimes involving the murder of a law enforcement officer, or any capital crime involving an illegal immigrant.
The AG will also encourage state-level AGs to pursue capital punishment for all capital crimes.
It instructs the AG to assess the cases of each of the 37 federal death row inmates whose punishments were commuted by Biden to determine whether they can be issued state-level capital sentences instead.
The AG will work to overturn any U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) rulings that impede the government’s ability to impose the death penalty.
