United States President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to intensify the death penalty’s use during his upcoming term. Trump’s death penalty plans criticized President Joe Bidens for commuting federal death row sentences to life imprisonment without parole and pledged swift action upon inauguration.
The former President declared on social media, “As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.”
After lifting a 20-year pause, Trump’s first administration oversaw 13 federal executions, setting a new record. Over the years, support for the death penalty in the United States has drastically decreased. According to Gallup polling, opposition increased to 43% in 2024, while support fell from 80% in 1994 to 53%.
Although research questions its effectiveness, supporters contend that the death sentence provides closure to the families of victims and deters crime. Heather Turner, who lost her mother during a 2107 bank robbery in South Carolina, condemned Biden’s decision to reduce death row sentences. “The pain and trauma we have endured over the last 7 years has been indescribable,” she stated.
Trump’s campaign rhetoric further highlighted his intention to seek the death penalty for undocumented immigrants convicted of violent crimes. He connected such crimes to threats against public safety despite data indicating immigrants commit fewer violent crimes than US-born individuals.
Meanwhile, critics denounce systemic flaws in the capital punishment system due to wrongful executions, disproportionate racial impact, and the high cost of legal procedures. Civil rights groups remain alarmed over Trump’s focus on immigrant offenders, calling it fearmongering with dangerous implications. The debate for Trump’s death penalty plans continued as Biden left three federal death sentences intact, including Dylann Roof, Robert Bowers, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
