Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Imposes a Moratorium on Federal Executions; Orders Review of Policies and Procedures
Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued a memorandum imposing a moratorium on federal executions while a review of the Justice Department’s policies and procedures is pending.
“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,” said Attorney General Garland. “That obligation has special force in capital cases.”
In the last two years, the department made a series of changes to capital case policies and procedures and carried out the first federal executions in nearly two decades between July 2020 and January 2021. That included adopting a new protocol for administering lethal injections at the federal Bureau of Prisons, using the drug pentobarbital. Attorney General
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Attorney General Merrick Garland Orders Moratorium On Federal Executions
The Justice Department will review its policies and procedures related to capital cases during this pause.
Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered a moratorium on federal executions on Thursday ―
citing “serious concerns” about the continued use of the death penalty in the U.S., including the “arbitrariness in its application, disparate impact on people of color, and the troubling number of exonerations in capital and other serious cases.”
“Those weighty concerns deserve careful study and evaluation by lawmakers,” Garland said in a memorandum to senior officials, adding that no further federal executions would be scheduled while the Justice Department reviews its “policies and procedures” related to capital cases.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Imposes a Moratorium on Federal Executions; Orders Review of Policies and Procedures
The title of this post is the heading of this notable new US Justice Department press release. Here is the main text of the press release:
Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued a memorandum imposing a moratorium on federal executions while a review of the Justice Department’s policies and procedures is pending.
“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,” said Attorney General Garland. “That obligation has special force in capital cases.”
Sentencing Law and Policy
Federal Sentencing Reporter issue considers After Trump: The Future of the President’s Pardon Power
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Monthly Review | The New Cold War on China monthlyreview.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from monthlyreview.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.