Mr. Biden, who was instrumental as a senator in passing the law that put many of the condemned inmates on death row, campaigned on a platform to end the federal death penalty and incentivize states to follow suit. His Justice Department has since placed a moratorium on executions amid a review of department policies related to capital punishment. Progressives in Congress are pressing the administration to dismantle the federal capital punishment system and formally commute all federal death sentences. Completely ending use of the federal capital punishment would require Congress to pass legislation. “This is about people’s lives, and state-sanctioned murder is not justice,” said Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat who has introduced a bill that would end the federal death penalty.

Source: New York Times July 16, 2021 19:52 UTC