As the debate over the federal death penalty intensifies, President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to reinstate and expand its use, prompting advocates to urge President Biden to convert the sentences of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life imprisonment without parole. This contentious issue continues to stir strong opinions and legal challenges.
In a historic move, the Trump administration resumed federal executions in July 2020 after a 17-year hiatus, executing 13 individuals in just six months. This number is threefold compared to the total federal executions in the previous six decades. Critics have expressed concerns over the fairness and legality of these executions, prompting Attorney General Merrick Garland to impose a moratorium in July 2021 to address issues of arbitrary application, racial disparities, and wrongful convictions in capital cases.
The Complex Landscape of Federal Death Penalty
A critical issue with the federal death penalty is its uneven application, with significant disparities based on geography, race, and legal representation. While the federal government can pursue death sentences for certain crimes nationwide, nearly half of all federal death sentences have been concentrated in just three states: Missouri, Texas, and Virginia. Moreover, two-thirds of current federal death sentences are from only three of the 12 judicial circuits.
Racial disparities are stark in the federal capital punishment system. Between 1989 and June 2024, 73 percent of those tried for federal capital punishment were people of color, with Hispanic individuals being 2.3 times more likely to face the death penalty than white individuals. In Texas, Black defendants in federal cases are 16 times more likely to be sentenced to death than their non-Black counterparts.
The quality of legal defense also plays a significant role in determining death sentences. A 2010 study revealed an inverse correlation between the likelihood of receiving a death sentence and the amount of time defense attorneys spend on investigation and preparation. Jurisdictions with the most active death penalty records often allocate fewer resources for federal capital defense.
Challenges in Protecting Vulnerable Individuals
The Supreme Court has ruled that executing individuals with intellectual disabilities or severe mental illness is unconstitutional. However, data indicates that about 85 percent of those on federal death row have significant mental impairments. This includes individuals like Corey Johnson, Lisa Montgomery, and Wesley Purkey, who were executed despite having unresolved questions about their mental capacity.
The lethal injection method used for federal executions has also come under scrutiny. Although the Trump administration switched to using pentobarbital, concerns persist about its humaneness, as it can cause severe pain and pulmonary edema. Legal challenges to the use of this drug continue, with courts at times halting executions to examine the claims, only for higher courts to intervene and allow them to proceed.
Review Process and Risk of Miscarriages of Justice
The federal death penalty review process is criticized for being insufficient in preventing miscarriages of justice. Since 1973, at least 200 individuals sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated, although these cases were at the state level. The federal review process lacks adequate safeguards, with several individuals executed despite having credible claims of racial bias and trial errors.
Cases like those of Orlando Hall, Lezmond Mitchell, Brandon Bernard, and Daniel Lee illustrate the challenges and potential injustices within the federal capital punishment system. These cases highlight concerns about racial discrimination, insufficient legal representation, and the withholding of exculpatory evidence.
The 40 individuals currently on federal death row represent broader issues of racial and geographic disparities, as well as questions about the legality and fairness of the federal death penalty. President Biden has the authority to commute these death sentences to life imprisonment, a decision that could have significant implications for the federal system and the over 2,000 individuals on death row nationwide.
