Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety
The order directs the Attorney General to pursue the death penalty for all federal capital crimes severe enough to warrant it, with mandatory priority for murders of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. It also directs the AG to ensure states have sufficient lethal injection drugs and to seek the overruling of Supreme Court precedents limiting capital punishment.
It reverses the Biden administration's de facto moratorium on federal executions, and directs evaluation of the 37 individuals whose federal death sentences were commuted in December 2024, including whether state capital charges can be brought against them.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Attorney General to pursue the death penalty for all federal capital crimes of sufficient severity, and to specifically seek the death penalty — regardless of other factors — whenever a law enforcement officer is murdered or a capital crime is committed by someone present in the country illegally. The AG is also directed to encourage state attorneys general and district attorneys to bring state capital charges in those same categories, and to modify the Justice Manual to reflect the order's policies. The AG must evaluate the confinement conditions of 37 individuals whose federal death sentences were commuted by President Biden in December 2024, take action to ensure their imprisonment reflects the severity of their crimes, and assess whether state capital charges can be brought against them.
Separately, the order directs the AG to ensure states that permit capital punishment have sufficient lethal injection drugs, to act on any pending state certification requests under 28 U.S.C. 2265, and to seek the overruling of Supreme Court precedents that restrict governments' authority to impose capital punishment. The order does not itself create new capital offenses or change the underlying statutory criteria for the death penalty.
Who it affects
Federal prosecutors and DOJ whose charging priorities are now mandated. State attorneys general and district attorneys, who are directed to align with federal capital charging priorities. The 37 individuals whose federal death sentences were commuted in December 2024 face review of their confinement and potential referral for state capital charges. States administering lethal injection are targeted for federal drug-supply support.
Why it matters
Federal prosecutors must now prioritize death-penalty cases in specified categories, likely increasing the volume of federal capital prosecutions. State prosecutors face direct federal pressure to pursue capital charges in aligned cases. The 37 commuted individuals may face harsher confinement conditions and new state prosecution. States using lethal injection gain a federal partner for securing drug supplies.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The Attorney General is the sole implementation actor across every directive. The AG first modifies the Justice Manual to codify the new prosecution priorities, then works outward: coordinating with state prosecutors on capital charging decisions, securing lethal injection drug supplies for states, processing any pending Section 2265 state certification requests, evaluating and adjusting confinement for the 37 commuted prisoners, and filing litigation aimed at overturning restrictive Supreme Court precedents. No specific reporting deadlines or sunset clauses are imposed, and no OMB oversight mechanism is established.
Actions and deadlines
- Pursue the death penalty for all federal capital crimes of sufficient severity
- Seek the death penalty for murders of law enforcement officers and capital crimes by undocumented immigrants, regardless of other factors
- Encourage state attorneys general and district attorneys to bring state capital charges for the specified crime categories
- Modify the Justice Manual to reflect the policy and purpose of this order
- Evaluate confinement conditions for the 37 commuted prisoners and take lawful action to adjust them appropriately
- Evaluate whether the 37 commuted prisoners can face state capital charges and recommend action to state and local authorities
- Ensure states permitting capital punishment have sufficient lethal injection drugs
- Approve or deny any pending state certification requests under 28 U.S.C. 2265
- Seek the overruling of Supreme Court precedents that limit capital punishment authority