Trump's Executive Order on Capital Punishment Sparks Outcry
One of Trump's most controversial actions has been the revocation of Biden's moratorium on federal executions through Executive Order 14164, which also ensures that states maintain a sufficient supply of drugs for lethal injections. This move is viewed as an alarming signal of his desire to expand capital punishment.
In his order, Trump condemned Biden's commutation of sentences for 37 death row prisoners, labelling them as "vile and sadistic". He asserted that capital punishment serves to protect victims from barbaric acts, despite the fact that many of those commuted were convicted under questionable circumstances.
Some prisoners, such as Billie Allen, maintain their innocence, while others like Meier Jason Brown faced severe prosecutorial misconduct. Additionally, the execution of individuals with severe mental illness has been deemed unconstitutional.
Historical data reveals that from 1972 to 2024, 200 death row inmates were exonerated, with a significant portion being people of colour, raising concerns about racial bias in capital sentencing.
Despite claims of deterrence by proponents, research has consistently failed to prove that capital punishment effectively reduces crime rates. A 2012 report by the National Academy of Sciences highlighted a lack of informative evidence regarding the relationship between executions and homicide rates.
Executing prisoners has also become increasingly challenging due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs, exacerbated by pharmaceutical companies refusing to permit their products for such uses. This shortage leads to potential botched executions, raising ethical concerns about human rights.
Trump’s order prioritises the supply of execution drugs over essential medications for public health, once again showing his administration's troubling stance on human rights. As the death penalty continues to decline globally, the United States remains an outlier among Western nations, often standing alongside countries with dubious human rights records.
The expansion of capital punishment under Trump's leadership is viewed as a moral failance that contradicts the widespread global movement towards abolishing the death penalty.
