Trump signs executive order on death penalty: What will change
Photo: Donald Trump, 47th President of the United States of America (Getty Images)
President of the United States of America Donald Trump has signed an executive order on the death penalty. The Attorney General has been instructed to assist states in obtaining lethal injection drugs, the Associated Press reports.
As noted by AP, the order was issued only a few hours after Trump returned to the White House. The move obliges the Department of Justice not only to seek the death penalty in appropriate federal cases but also to promote its preservation in states that have difficulty maintaining sufficient stocks of lethal injectable drugs.
Among other things, Trump has instructed the Attorney General to seek the death penalty in the following cases:
- the murder of a law enforcement officer;
- capital crimes committed by an alien who is unlawfully present in this country.
The AP adds that the Trump administration has carried out 13 federal executions during its first term, more than any other president. In his speech, the Republican also called for the death penalty for those caught selling drugs and later promised to execute drug smugglers.
Death penalty by injection
The death penalty by injection is a method of executing a death sentence that involves injecting a convicted person with a special drug or combination of drugs that causes loss of consciousness, muscle paralysis, and cardiac arrest. This method was first used in the United States in 1982 and has since become the main method in most states where the death penalty is authorized.
At the end of December, Trump promised to seek the death penalty for those who have committed violent crimes.
