President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to continue pursuing the death penalty during his second term, targeting what he calls “rapists, murderers, and monsters,” international media reported.
“As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children. We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!” Trump posted on social media Tuesday.
Trump’s first term saw the end of a nearly 20-year hiatus on federal executions. He oversaw 13 executions, the most of any modern president. The policy attracted attention as Trump framed capital punishment as a deterrent to violent crime and a means to bring closure to victims’ families.
Public opinion on the death penalty is divided in the U.S., with 53% supporting capital punishment for crimes such as murder, according to a 2024 Gallup poll, a significant drop from 80% in 1994. Opposition now stands at 43%, driven by concerns over wrongful executions, racial disparities, and the high costs of the death penalty process.
Critics argue that the death penalty disproportionately impacts people of color and cite cases where innocent individuals were executed and later exonerated. Immigrant rights groups also condemn Trump’s proposal to seek the death penalty for undocumented immigrants convicted of violent crimes, highlighting that immigrants commit such crimes at lower rates than U.S.-born citizens.
Trump’s push for tougher measures is part of his broader “law and order” platform, which has often included nativist rhetoric.
Meanwhile, outgoing President Joe Biden commuted nearly all federal death sentences, except for those of three individuals convicted of hate-motivated crimes: Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black congregants at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina in 2015; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, responsible for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing; and Robert Bowers, who carried out the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history, killing 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.
Trump’s stance on the death penalty is expected to reignite debates, with supporters highlighting justice for victims and critics raising concerns about systemic flaws and ethical issues.