The death penalty is outlawed in 21 US states, and before a July policy reversal by US President Donald Trump, the US federal government hadn’t executed someone in 17 years. Since then, a record number have been killed by lethal injection, and more are scheduled for the next two months.
A federal appeals court struck down attempts to block several federal executions scheduled for the final two months of Trump’s first term. On Wednesday, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit refused to delay two scheduled executions, including one set for Thursday.
Death row prisoners and their advocates have pushed for a halting of federal executions until the government agrees to administer the pain reliever pentobarbital alongside the death-inducing lethal injection. While Judges Patricia A. Millett and Neomi Rao refused to delay the scheduled executions, they left the door open to continuing litigation efforts.
Activist group Death Penalty Action has accumulated more than 3,600 signatures to a petition urging the Trump administration to stay Hall’s Thursday execution, which it delivered to the White House on Wednesday.
For 17 years, the US government carried out no executions, although the few remaining US states that have retained the death penalty have continued to execute those sentenced to death. Then, in July, amid the mass death of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration suddenly resumed performing capital punishment at the US Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The seven executions under the Trump administration are already the most carried out by the government in any single year on record, according to Newsweek.
However, for some, the rush to execute more inmates in the final months of Trump’s first term in office is connected to his likely departure from the White House in January 2021. While the results of the November 2020 presidential election have not yet been decided, Democratic presumed President-elect Joe Biden has taken a firm stance against capital punishment and promised to outlaw it if he becomes chief executive. Trump has filed lawsuits in several states contesting the ballot counts, alleging fraud.
“DOJ lawyers have informed federal judges that more execution dates will be announced soon. This shameful killing spree must end.”
Actress Susan Sarandon has also spoken out against Montgomery’s execution, saying the court was denied essential evidence about her mental illness that should have a mitigating effect on the sentence.
“President-Elect Biden’s plan for strengthening America’s commitment to justice includes the elimination of the federal death penalty and Vice-President-Elect Harris is an original cosponsor of legislation we have introduced to eliminate the federal death penalty,” the lawmakers’ letter noted.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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