President-elect Donald Trump Vows to Pursue Death Penalty Upon Taking Office
President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will direct the Department of Justice to “vigorously pursue the death penalty” as soon as he is inaugurated, following President Joe Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences of 37 federal inmates to life in prison.
Trump’s vow comes as he continues to advocate for the use of the death penalty, which was a key part of his tough-on-crime rhetoric during the 2024 campaign. The president-elect believes that the death penalty is necessary to protect American families and children from violent criminals, and that it is a key part of creating a “Nation of Law and Order.”
Biden’s commutation of most federal death row inmates, which Trump has criticized as “making no sense,” leaves only three individuals in federal prison facing the death penalty when Trump takes office in January. These individuals are Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh; Dylann Roof, who murdered nine people at a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the brothers responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing.
While Biden’s clemency decisions cannot be reversed, Trump’s Justice Department could resume seeking the death penalty in future cases. Trump has also pledged to seek the death penalty for drug dealers, anyone caught trafficking children across the US-Mexico border, and migrants who kill a US citizen or law enforcement officer.
Reactions to Biden’s commutations have been mixed, with some families of those whose sentences were commuted expressing relief, while others have spoken out in anger. The widow of Bryan Hurst, an Ohio police officer killed by Daryl Lawrence, whose sentence was commuted, expressed her disappointment, stating that her family believes Lawrence’s nearly 20 years in prison have had no positive impact.
