Among his flurry of day-one executive orders, President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department to help states obtain lethal injection drugs and launch a whole new round of capital prosecutions. But even if he succeeds in that endeavor, thanks to former Attorney General Merrick Garland, it will be harder for Trump to turn death sentences into executions than it was at the start of his first term.
As the White House describes it, the president ordered the Department of Justice to “seek the death penalty as the appropriate punishment for heinous crimes against humanity, including those who kill law enforcement officers and illegal migrants who maim and murder Americans.” This order is one step toward fulfilling promises he made during the campaign.
