Trump lashes out at Joe Biden and promises a strong return to capital punishment
On Tuesday, the US president-elect pledged that, upon his return to the White House, he would actively pursue the federal death penalty for all serious crimes.
Joe Biden has just pardoned 37 death row inmates, which doesn't please Donald Trump at all, and he reacted strongly on his Truth Social platform: “As soon as I'm inaugurated, I will direct the Department of Justice to vigorously pursue (the request for) the death penalty to protect American families and children from rapists, murderers, and violent monsters.” In his text, he also criticizes Joe Biden's decision, calling it “unprecedented” and “incomprehensible”. “Joe Biden has just commuted the death sentences of 37 of the worst killers in our country. When you hear what each one did, you won't believe they did it,” he said.
A historic decision
On Monday, a few weeks before Donald Trump's inauguration, Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates. According to human rights organizations, the move is historic, representing the “largest number of death penalty commutations by an American president in modern times”.
Expanding the use of the death penalty
During his campaign, Donald Trump had already stated that he would extend the use of capital punishment to crimes such as the murder of US citizens by immigrants, or drug and human trafficking, points out the media outlet 20 Minutes. In his previous term, the Republican reactivated federal executions after a 17-year suspension; 13 convictions were carried out between July 2020 and January 2021. A figure that exceeds the cumulative total of the previous ten administrations.
(MH with Manon Pierre - Source : 20 Minutes - Picture : Picture by Michel Vadon via WikiCommons licensed under cc by 2.0)