Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety
Restores Federal Death Penalty and Directs Tougher Prosecutions Nationwide
What it does
The order directs agencies to pursue and restore federal capital punishment and support states in carrying out death sentences.
Real-world impact
- Resumes federal death-penalty prosecutions for many severe federal crimes.
- Requires states to secure lethal-injection drugs for executions.
- Prompts review and possible recharging or harsher imprisonment for 37 commuted offenders.
Topics
Summary
This order tells the Justice Department and federal prosecutors to resume and aggressively pursue the death penalty for serious federal crimes, including murder of law-enforcement officers and crimes by people in the country illegally.
It orders reviews of the 37 people whose federal death sentences were commuted, directs steps to ensure states have lethal-injection drugs, and instructs the Justice Department to seek court changes that would expand capital punishment. The stated goal is to strengthen punishment for violent crime and protect communities.
Questions, answered
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