Trump announces he would instruct Justice Department to "vigorously pursue" death penalty

(MENAFN) US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he would instruct the Justice Department to "vigorously pursue" the death penalty against individuals convicted of violent crimes, such as rape, murder, and other heinous offenses, once he assumes office on January 20. Trump's statement, shared on his social media platform "Truth Social," was in response to President Joe Biden's recent decision to reduce the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, out of 40 federal prisoners facing the death penalty.

Trump's transition team criticized Biden's move, labeling it as "abhorrent" and supportive of convicts, whom they described as some of the "worst killers in the world." Trump expressed his intention to take a stronger stance on the death penalty, saying, "Once I am inaugurated, I will direct the Department of Justice to aggressively pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters." During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump reinstated federal executions, ending a nearly 20-year moratorium on the federal death penalty. In contrast, President Biden, who has long opposed the death penalty, halted federal executions upon taking office in January 2021. While a president cannot overturn previous pardons, Trump indicated that he would pursue a more forceful approach to capital punishment in future cases.

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