
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Investigative News for South Carolina and the World
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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ToggleBy James Seidel
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to take aggressive action to ensure states have adequate supplies of lethal injection drugs and to reinstate federal executions, marking a significant expansion of capital punishment policy in the United States.
The order compels the attorney general to pursue the death penalty in federal cases involving heinous crimes, including the killing of law enforcement officers and capital offenses committed by undocumented immigrants. It also directs the Justice Department to assist states struggling to maintain supplies of lethal injection drugs, which have faced shortages due to manufacturer restrictions and legal challenges.
“The government’s most solemn responsibility is to protect its citizens from abhorrent acts, and my administration will not tolerate efforts to stymie and eviscerate the laws that authorize capital punishment against those who commit horrible acts of violence against American citizens,” Trump said in the order.
This move follows a moratorium on federal executions imposed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021. Trump’s directive comes just days after Garland rescinded a protocol that allowed for single-drug lethal injections using pentobarbital, a method Trump’s first-term attorney general, Bill Barr, introduced to replace an earlier three-drug cocktail.
Trump has instructed the attorney general to overrule Supreme Court precedents that he says restrict state and federal governments’ ability to impose capital punishment. He also directed the Justice Department to take federal jurisdiction in eligible cases to ensure capital punishment is pursued.
During Trump’s first term, his administration carried out 13 federal executions, the most by any president in modern history. Since taking office, President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life in prison, leaving only three individuals on federal death row:
Trump’s order also signals a renewed push for capital punishment against drug traffickers and human smugglers, a policy he outlined during his 2024 campaign launch. He has previously praised China’s execution policies for drug offenders and called for harsher penalties in the U.S.
The new directive will likely be enforced by Acting Attorney General James McHenry III or Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, pending Senate confirmation. The Justice Department’s new execution policies are expected to face legal and logistical challenges, especially as manufacturers continue to oppose the use of their drugs in lethal injections.
This sweeping measure is part of Trump’s broader agenda to reinforce law and order policies, a cornerstone of his campaign and presidency.
South Carolina’s death row inmates face a complex and controversial struggle due to the state’s difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs, a problem that has stalled executions for years. The shortage stems from pharmaceutical companies’ refusal to sell drugs for executions and legal challenges to alternative methods, leaving the state without the necessary resources to carry out its capital punishment sentences. This impasse has led to prolonged stays on death row for inmates and has reignited debates about the ethics and efficacy of capital punishment. In response, South Carolina lawmakers passed legislation allowing alternative methods, including electrocution and firing squads, to resume executions, but these measures have been met with intense legal scrutiny. However, in September 2024, the state resumed capital punishment with the execution of Freddie Owens, marking the first execution in 13 years. Following Owens’ execution, Richard Moore was executed in November 2024.
South Carolina is set to resume executions following a holiday pause, with the state Supreme Court scheduling the next execution for Jan. 31.
State officials aim to carry out death sentences for multiple inmates who have exhausted their appeals but faced delays due to a lack of lethal injection drugs. Marion Bowman Jr., 44, is scheduled for execution at the end of the month.
CC News Network will continue to monitor developments on this issue
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