First time in 17 years: US approves federal death penalty

US authorities for the first time in 17 years will carry out the death sentences. The corresponding order was signed by Attorney General William Barr. Four murderers who took the lives of children will be executed. Two of them were found guilty of rape. Writes about it Gazeta.Ru.

Photo: Shutterstock

Death sentences against four criminals convicted by a federal court will be executed in the United States in mid-July and late August. This order was given by the US Attorney General William Barr.

“The four killers whose execution dates were set today have gone through a full trial in accordance with our constitution and laws,” said Barr, head of the US Department of Justice.

According to the US Attorney General, the authorities are required to execute the sentence for the victims of terrible crimes and their families. The execution awaits four criminals - child murderers, among whom two were found guilty of raping minors as well.

The United States federal authorities last executed the death sentence in 2003. Since then, an unofficial moratorium has been in place - the rules for the use of lethal injections have not been agreed. Moreover, at the state level, the death penalty was used.

In August 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump called for the return of the death penalty after mass executions in the cities of Dayton and El Paso. According to the American leader, capital punishment should be returned to those who committed massacres of hate.

On the subject: In the United States resume the death penalty: how the Americans responded and what will change for those sentenced

“Our people must unanimously condemn racism, intolerance and the ideology of white superiority. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in the US, ”Trump said.

At the same time, Trump pointed to the role of the Internet in the process of radicalization of the US population and called for an end to the “eulogy of violence", accusing computer games of propaganda.

“Today it’s too easy for frustrated youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence,” said the President of the United States.

In April 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the Trump administration's request for the execution of federal offenders.

US Attorney General William Barr has already ordered the resumption of the death penalty for "federal" crimes a few months before - but the decision was appealed in court.

Some cases in the United States are considered by judges at the state level, some at the federal level, among them cases of terrorism and other serious crimes. At the state level, about 2,5 thousand were sentenced to death in America. criminals.

In the United States, they are executed in five ways, in different states in different ways: by hanging, in an electric chair, by shooting, asphyxiation in a gas chamber and using a fatal injection. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the main method is the injection of poison, but sometimes an electric chair is also used. At the same time, death penalty is prohibited in 23 states - these include New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

According to the public organization Death Penalty Information Center, the death penalty costs the American authorities 1,5-4 times more expensive than other forms of punishment.

According to Mark Thornton, a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, it takes millions of dollars to execute a death sentence in the States.

On the subject: Trump wants to introduce the death penalty for selling drugs

“The death penalty is a huge burden on the budget, which not every state can bear. For example, New Jersey at one time refused such a punishment. The authorities considered that each sentence costs them about $ 4 million. It’s several times cheaper to put criminals for life, ”he said.

The reason for the high cost of the process lies in thorough legal proceedings. The fact is that the courts have to take a more serious approach to the procedure, analyze the corpus delicti for more than one year, collect evidence and only after that pass a sentence. Moreover, there are no restrictions on the timing of the review, so the process can drag on for at least 20 years.

“Each death sentence is overwhelmed by the relatives of the convict. As a result, out of 10 sentences, a maximum of 1-2 is executed, which only leads to millions of expenses for legal proceedings, and the offender is also kept in prison for life on budget money, ”the expert noted.

We add that for the fifth year in a row, Iran leads the world in the number of executed: in 2018, 253 people, including seven juvenile offenders, were killed by the authorities in the country. In second place, Saudi Arabia, which sentenced 149 convicts to death, closes the three leaders in Vietnam, where 85 death sentences were carried out last year.

Read also on ForumDaily:

The criminals of the year: our people arrested in the US in 2019

'I slept with the enemy': a man staged his murder to bring his wife to clean water

Trump announced the death penalty for massacres

Ukrainian traveler miraculously escaped the death penalty in Iran: he was convicted because of the drone

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.