Campaigners against capital punishment are expressing deep concerns over the potential consequences if former President Donald Trump were to be re-elected, fearing what they describe as the “largest federal civilian execution spree” in U.S. history. Currently, there are 40 prisoners on federal death row at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, none of whom have been executed during President Joe Biden’s tenure.
Biden, known for his opposition to capital punishment, became the first president to openly advocate for eliminating the death penalty at the federal level during his 2020 campaign. However, instead of outright abolishing it, he implemented a moratorium on federal executions, a policy that could be reversed if Trump were to return to office.
Robert Dunham, Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, expressed grave concerns about the potential consequences of a second Trump administration, stating to DailyMail.com that it’s highly likely there would be a significant increase in executions if Trump were re-elected.
During Trump’s final six months in office, a notable surge in federal executions occurred, with 13 prisoners being put to death, marking the first federal executions since 2003. This included three executions following the 2020 election, making Trump the first outgoing president since Grover Cleveland in 1889 to carry out federal executions.
The blueprint for a potential second Trump term, outlined in ‘Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,’ underscores a strong stance in favor of enforcing the death penalty. The document advocates for bringing finality to the cases of prisoners on federal death row, arguing that justice for victims’ families and defendants requires enforcing the punishment.
Trump’s administration carried out more federal executions than any other president since Franklin Roosevelt in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Notably, these included the execution of Brandon Bernard, who was 18 at the time of his crime, and Lisa Montgo
