(DCWatchdog.com) – In a decisive new policy step, the future Trump administration is gearing up to dismantle Biden’s moratorium on federal executions.
Trump’s bold plan involves expanding the death penalty to include child rapists, human traffickers, and drug dealers.
This move challenges reforms aimed at reducing death penalty use and has sparked widespread debate.
During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump announced his vision to intensify the federal death penalty framework.
His targets are those he describes as “horrible people” responsible for “death and carnage” nationwide.
Trump proposes death penalties for child rapists, immigrants who kill U.S. citizens, human traffickers, and drug dealers.
This expansion includes a controversial push as the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 declared capital punishment for child rape unconstitutional when the crime doesn’t result in death.
Over recent years, states like Florida and Tennessee have passed laws to allow the death penalty for child rapists, hoping to challenge the Supreme Court decision.
During Trump’s last six months in office, 13 federal executions were carried out, raising concerns among anti-death penalty advocates and liberal reformers.
The Justice Department under Biden refrained from seeking the death penalty, highlighting a stark contrast in the administrations’ policies.
Critics warn of potential racial disparities and wrongful convictions if Trump’s plans are enforced.
Citing a former district attorney and expert on capital punishment, Matt Mangino, “The death penalty for drug and human trafficking would be unprecedented in the western world.”
Legal experts advise President Biden to commute death row sentences to life imprisonment before Trump’s presidency begins.
Yasmin Cader, ACLU deputy legal director, emphasizes constitutional principles against this expansion, vowing to oppose Trump’s agenda.
“These are terrible, terrible, horrible people who are responsible for death, carnage and crime all over the country,” Trump said of traffickers when he announced his 2024 candidacy.
“We’re going to be asking everyone who sells drugs, gets caught, to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts,” he added, cited by NBC News.
The moratorium on federal executions has been a pivotal policy shift under Biden, halting executions to enable a review of previous changes.
There are currently 40 federal inmates on death row, a figure set to increase if Trump’s proposals gain traction.
The Catholic Mobilizing Network urges President Biden to commute all federal death row sentences, while left-wing advocates fear for the fate of reforms under Trump’s administration.
Concerns over the resumption of execution protocols, with a conservative Supreme Court possibly favoring the death penalty, amplify anxieties.
Despite potential hurdles, Trump’s move to expand capital punishment challenges existing laws.
Congress would need to amend federal laws to broaden death penalty applications, requiring bipartisan cooperation.
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