The Justice Department’s push to accelerate federal executions in the final months of the Trump administration has encountered significant legal obstacles. Last week, federal judges blocked the government’s attempts to reverse earlier rulings that had paused several scheduled executions, highlighting the increasingly contentious battle over capital punishment.
In a strongly-worded decision, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote that the administration’s repeated attempts to circumvent judicial review “are not well-taken.” Her ruling temporarily halted the execution of Lisa Montgomery, who would have been the first woman executed by the federal government in nearly seven decades.
The resistance from the courts comes as the Trump administration has overseen an unprecedented resurgence in federal executions. Since July, the Department of Justice has executed eight federal inmates – more than the total number put to death by the federal government in the previous three decades combined.
“What we’re witnessing is an extraordinary rush to execute people before the administration changes,” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. “The speed and determination with which these executions are being pursued raise serious questions about the administration’s commitment to due process.”
The Justice Department, led by Attorney General William Barr, resumed federal executions in July after a 17-year hiatus. Officials have scheduled five more executions before President-elect Biden’s inauguration on January 20, including three during the presidential transition period – a break with historical precedent.
Legal challenges have centered on several key issues. Defense attorneys have argued that pandemic conditions prevent them from properly preparing clemency petitions. Others have raised concerns about the government’s lethal injection protocol, which uses a single drug called pentobarbital that some medical experts say can cause a sensation similar to drowning or suffocation before death.
The Supreme Court has largely allowed executions to proceed, often through late-night emergency rulings that provide little explanation. In a dissent to one such ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the court was “enabling the government’s rush to execute.”
Public support for capital punishment has declined significantly in recent decades. According to Gallup polling, approximately 55% of Americans now support the death penalty for convicted murderers, down from 80% in the mid-1990s. This shift reflects growing concerns about wrongful convictions, racial disparities, and ethical questions surrounding execution methods.
Several states have recently abolished capital punishment, including Colorado, New Hampshire, and Virginia. Currently, 22 states have completely eliminated the practice, while three others have gubernatorial moratoriums in place.
President-elect Biden has pledged to work toward ending federal executions and incentivizing states to follow suit. This represents a significant departure from the current administration’s approach and suggests that capital punishment will remain a divisive political issue.
The debate extends beyond politics. Religious groups have become increasingly vocal in their opposition to executions. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently issued a statement condemning the resumption of federal executions, reflecting Pope Francis’s declaration that capital punishment is “inadmissible” under Catholic teaching.
“The death penalty is fundamentally a broken system,” said Sister Helen Prejean, a leading anti-death penalty activist. “It’s applied arbitrarily, with factors like geography, race, and quality of legal representation often determining who lives and who dies.”
For families of victims, these legal battles can prolong an already painful process. Some advocate for swift justice through executions, while others oppose capital punishment entirely, arguing that it perpetuates cycles of violence without providing healing.
The current administration’s aggressive push for executions represents the culmination of a promise President Trump made during his 2016 campaign, when he positioned himself as a “law and order” candidate. Throughout his presidency, he has consistently advocated for expanding the death penalty, including for drug dealers and those who kill police officers.
As the legal challenges continue, the fate of those on federal death row hangs in the balance, caught between an outgoing administration determined to carry out executions and an incoming one that has signaled a dramatically different approach to criminal justice.
