Federal Executions And The Trump Administration
An anti-death penalty activist demonstrates in front of the U.S. Justice Department's Robert F. Kennedy Building in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
An anti-death penalty activist demonstrates in front of the U.S. Justice Department's Robert F. Kennedy Building in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesTen federal executions have happened in 2020. Three more are scheduled before the end of next month.
The last time the government executed that many people was in 1896. The Trump administration is now scheduled to complete the most federal executions in modern history.
In 2019, Attorney General Bill Barr announced the resumption of federal executions after a 16-year hiatus. The executions will continue until President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Why is the Justice Department pushing through these executions? Does it align with public opinion? And are states using capital punishment in the same way?
Liliana Segura, Robert Dunham, and Sister Helen Prejean joined us to talk about those questions and much more.
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