The Justice Department will pause federal executions as it reviews policies and procedures associated with the process, the agency announced Thursday.
A change of capital case policies made when the Trump administration restarted executions — including the introduction of a new lethal drug, pentobarbital — was the reason for Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memorandum ordering the moratorium, the department said.
“The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely,” Garland in a statement. “That obligation has special force in capital cases.”
WHITE HOUSE AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DIVERGE ON DEATH PENALTY POLICY
Garland’s memorandum requires the department’s Office of Legal Policy to review changes to regulations made during the Trump administration that expanded modes of execution of lethal injection and allowed federal authorities to use state facilities for executions.
The review will also look into the risk of pain someone might experience when put to death with pentobarbital.
The Trump administration resumed executions in 2020 after a 17-year pause, putting 13 inmates to death.
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President Joe Biden has faced criticism from some within the Democratic coalition for not acting quickly enough on the death penalty, and the consistency of his position on the issue has been challenged by his own Justice Department, which is seeking to overturn a court decision that halted the execution of Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Garland refused to comment on Tsarnaev’s case during his Senate confirmation hearing in February but said he had no regrets about pursuing the death penalty for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, whose case he prosecuted.
