US to facilitate federal death penalty, including ‘execution by firing squad’
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided to intervene in death penalty cases by facilitating the implementation of federal executions.
The DOJ announced on Friday that it is continuing to clear the way for expediting federal death penalty cases, including by expanding the manners of execution to include death by firing squad.
Under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department reversed a significant part of the work done under President Donald Trump’s first administration related to expanding the death penalty in federal cases, which the DOJ is trying to revert back.
“Among the actions taken are readopting the lethal injection protocol utilized during the first Trump Administration … [and] expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution such as the firing squad, and streamlining internal processes to expedite death penalty cases,” the announcement said.
Five states allow for death by firing squad for those convicted of the death penalty who have exhausted the appeal process.
In March, a South Carolina man convicted of a double murder became the fourth person to be put to death by a firing squad since the 1970s.
A death sentence is often followed by years of appeals and other legal processes before an execution is carried out.
In state cases, people sentenced to death can sometimes elect how they want to die, with lethal injection often being the default method.
“The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche alleged in a statement on Friday.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice is once again enforcing the law and standing with victims,” he claimed.
The DOJ is also attempting to streamline the process for seeking death sentences and cut down the number of years between conviction and execution, the announcement stated.
The US has one of the highest numbers of executions in the world, and since Trump's second administration, the country has seen a surge in the number of death penalties.
Iran’s UN mission slams illegal US seizure of dialysis supply ship
US Capitol Police arrest dozens of military veterans protesting Trump’s war on Iran
New York police arrest dozens demanding end to US military support for Israel
VIDEO | The arms trap: Oil, dependence, and the cost of reliance
The fourth center: Iran's wartime economic rise
Israel dragged US into war on Iran, State Department confirms
VIDEO | Released Gaza female prisoners narrate ordeal in Israel's Damon Prison
VIDEO | Press TV correspondent visits vessel seized by IRGC in Strait of Hormuz
VIDEO | Lockdown in Islamabad disrupts key supplies amid stalled Iran-US talks
VIDEO | CNN to turn more pro-war on Iran after takeover by Israel-linked family
How Israel moved Hermes 900 drone production to Serbia to hide from Iranian missiles
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
