Trump vows use of death penalty for 'rapists, murderers, monsters'

Trump's vow followed Biden's decision to commute nearly all federal death row sentences to life without parole

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to increase the use of the death penalty during his second term, targeting “rapists, murderers, and monsters.” His promise, made on Tuesday, comes in response to outgoing President Joe Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of nearly all federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without parole.

“As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!”

During his first term, Trump oversaw 13 federal executions, the most by any president in modern history, following a nearly 20-year pause in federal capital punishment.

Public support for the death penalty has waned in recent decades, with Gallup polls showing it has dropped from 80% in favor in 1994 to 53% in 2024. Opposition has risen from 16% to 43% in the same period.

Debate over capital punishment

Advocates argue that the death penalty provides closure for victims’ families and serves as a deterrent, though studies suggest little evidence for the latter. Heather Turner, whose mother was killed in a 2017 South Carolina bank robbery, criticized Biden’s decision to commute sentences, saying, “The pain and trauma we have endured over the last 7 years has been indescribable.”

Critics of capital punishment highlight the risks of wrongful executions, the high costs of the process, and its disproportionate use against people of color.

During his campaign, Trump amplified his rhetoric on crime, promising the death penalty for undocumented immigrants convicted of murder or rape against U.S. citizens. Critics, including immigrant rights groups, argue such rhetoric perpetuates harmful stereotypes, noting that immigrants commit violent crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens.

Exemptions from Biden’s pardons

Three federal death row inmates were excluded from Biden’s commutations. They include Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black worshippers at a South Carolina church in 2015; Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

These individuals, convicted of hate-motivated crimes, remain on death row as debates over capital punishment continue to divide the nation.