On July 25, 2019, this bad news came out.
Brand New Congress (www.brandnewcongress.org) reported this:
Earlier today, Attorney General William Barr ordered the reinstatement of the federal death penalty for the first time in 16 years. Only 3 federal executions have taken place since 1988. Despite this, the Trump Administration has authorized executions may take place as early as December of 2019.
The death penalty is an inhumane practice. It doesn’t deter. It doesn’t rehabilitate. It isn’t moral. It only punishes. It’s time for America to ban legalized murder. …
We have watched this Administration openly peddle in racism and xenophobic policies. Reinstating the death penalty is yet another alarming policy decision, which will disproportionately affect our most vulnerable communities..
Wrongful convictions affect people of color far more than other demographics. According to the Innocence Project, 62% of all wrongful convictions affect African Americans. Look no further than the Central Park Five to get a taste of how common and how damaging wrongful convictions are. …
Meanwhile, the rest of the world is moving past the death penalty. This antiquated and inhumane practice has been outlawed by over 70% of all industrialized nations. In December of 2018, 120 countries adopted a United Nations resolution calling for a world-wide moratorium on the death penalty, urging countries to ban the practice. As usual, the Trump Administration refused to sign-on and take a stand for human rights.
These news posts came out the next day, on July 26, 2019:
Atty. Gen. Barr announces the U.S. govt will start executing people again: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/25/1874369/-Less-than-24-hours-after-Mueller-hearings-Barr-announces-resumption-of-federal-executions?detail=emaildkre
Justice Department Resuming Executions for Federal Inmates: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/justice-department-resuming-executions-for-federal-inmates/
CNN reported that after 16 years with no executions by the federal government, Trump’s Attorney General William Bar will start executing people: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/politics/justice-department-capital-punishment-barr/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=fb66d0b79a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_07_26_08_41&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-fb66d0b79a-87252873
CNN also reported that A.G. Barr directed the Bureau of Prisons to schedule the execution of five inmates: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/us/five-inmates-federal-executions/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=fb66d0b79a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_07_26_08_41&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-fb66d0b79a-87252873
CNN also reported that Trump has been calling for the death penalty much more often recently: https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/06/politics/trump-death-penalty-china-criminal-justice/index.html?utm_source=CNN+Five+Things&utm_campaign=fb66d0b79a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_07_26_08_41&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6da287d761-fb66d0b79a-87252873
Executions will be scheduled to begin later in 2019, but legal challenges are likely to delay them.
As of late July 2019, there are 62 inmates on federal death row.
In the U.S., the death penalty is legal in 29 states, where about 2,600 persons are on death row.
