Federal Death Penalty Debate Intensifies Amid Proposals for Expansion and Calls for Clemency
President-elect Donald Trump’s recent pledge to expand the federal use of the death penalty has sparked a renewed debate on capital punishment in the United States. Advocates are urging President Biden to counter this by commuting the sentences of the 40 individuals currently on federal death row to life imprisonment without parole. This call comes amidst a backdrop of contentious executions and ongoing legal scrutiny of death penalty practices.
In July 2020, the Trump administration ended a 17-year hiatus in federal executions by carrying out the first federal execution since 2003. Over the subsequent six months, 13 people were executed, a rate three times higher than in the previous six decades. This unprecedented wave of executions has drawn sharp criticism across the political spectrum, raising significant concerns about the fairness and legality of the federal capital punishment process.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, in July 2021, imposed a moratorium on federal executions. This decision was influenced by issues related to the arbitrary application of the death penalty, racial disparities, and the number of exonerations in capital cases. The moratorium aimed to halt new executions while reviewing Trump-era policies designed to expedite them. However, unresolved legal and moral questions about these policies continue to pose challenges for the Department of Justice in pursuing capital cases.
Uneven Application of the Federal Death Penalty
Federal death sentences can be pursued for specific crimes across the country, yet their application is inconsistent. Geographic, racial, and socio-economic factors heavily influence who receives these sentences. Since 1988, nearly half of all federal death sentences have originated from just three states: Missouri, Texas, and Virginia. Furthermore, two-thirds of current federal death sentences have been imposed in only three out of 12 judicial circuits.
Racial disparities are glaring, with 73 percent of those tried in federal capital cases and 60 percent of those sentenced to death being people of color. Hispanic individuals are 2.3 times more likely to receive death sentences than white individuals, and in Texas, Black defendants face a 16-fold higher likelihood of receiving the death penalty compared to their non-Black counterparts. The quality of legal defense also plays a crucial role, with a 2010 study indicating that the likelihood of receiving a death sentence inversely correlates with the amount of time defense attorneys devote to investigation and preparation.
Concerns Over Mental Health and Execution Practices
Despite Supreme Court rulings against executing individuals with intellectual disabilities or severe mental illnesses, data indicates that approximately 85 percent of those on federal death row have significant mental impairments. Notable cases such as Corey Johnson, Lisa Montgomery, and Wesley Purkey highlight the distressing reality that executions continue amid unresolved questions about mental capacity.
Moreover, the use of lethal injection drugs has been contentious. Initially halted in 2006 due to concerns over the pain inflicted by the drug combination, the federal government switched to using pentobarbital in July 2019. However, this drug is not without controversy, as it is linked to causing flash pulmonary edema, leading to severe pain and terror during executions. Legal and regulatory reviews were bypassed before its adoption, and subsequent court challenges have been overridden by higher courts, allowing executions to proceed despite pending investigations into its humane nature.
Review Process and Risk of Miscarriages of Justice
Federal capital cases undergo an internal review process by the Department of Justice before prosecution, and post-trial judicial reviews. However, these processes are often insufficient to prevent miscarriages of justice. Cases like Orlando Hall’s, who was convicted by an all-white jury amid racial bias claims, and Lezmond Mitchell’s, whose execution proceeded against the Navajo Nation’s objections, underscore the shortcomings in safeguarding against wrongful convictions and executions.
The recent spate of federal executions has intensified scrutiny over these issues, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor notably criticizing the Supreme Court’s approval of executions without adequate scrutiny or resolution of significant legal claims. The federal system sets a national example that resonates across the country, impacting over 2,000 people on death row nationwide.
As President Biden contemplates clemency requests, the debate over capital punishment continues to highlight systemic issues. With time running out before the administration changes, advocates emphasize the urgency for policy reforms and the commutation of death sentences to ensure justice and equity within the federal criminal justice system.
