President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that, upon taking office, he will direct the Department of Justice to "vigorously pursue the death penalty" following President Joe Biden's decision to commute the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life in prison on Monday.
Trump stated on Truth Social, "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. We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!" This statement reflects his long-standing support for the death penalty, which was a key aspect of his tough-on-crime rhetoric during the 2024 campaign.
Following Biden's commutation, which Trump criticized as "makes no sense" on Truth Social, only three federal inmates will still face the death penalty when Trump takes office in January.
After President Biden commuted the sentences of most federal death row inmates — a move Trump called "makes no sense" on Truth Social — only three individuals will remain on federal death row when the president-elect takes office in January.
The three remaining individuals facing the death penalty are all linked to horrific mass shootings or terrorist attacks: Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018; Dylann Roof, a White nationalist who murdered nine people at a Charleston, South Carolina, church in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the brothers responsible for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Although Biden's commutation decisions cannot be reversed when Trump assumes office, the incoming administration's Justice Department could seek the death penalty in future cases.
Throughout his campaign, Trump emphasized his commitment to tough-on-crime policies, including advocating for more frequent use of the death penalty. During his 2024 campaign launch, he vowed to pursue the death penalty for drug dealers and announced plans to push for legislation imposing the death penalty on anyone caught trafficking children across the U.S. border.
In the final weeks of the 2024 campaign, Trump made repeated pledges to advocate for the death penalty for any migrant who kills a U.S. citizen or law enforcement officer.
Biden's commutation decisions on Monday sparked mixed reactions. While some families of those whose sentences were commuted expressed relief, others, particularly families of the victims, voiced anger. The widow of Bryan Hurst, an Ohio police officer killed in 2005 by Daryl Lawrence, whose sentence was commuted, expressed her family's disappointment in a statement provided to CNN affiliate WBNS.
