Donald Trump’s latest reported plans if he returns to the White House has online abuzz with his philosophy of bringing back the death penalty.
The idea of the former President “bringing back” firing squads, public and group executions, even hangings and the guillotine is a possibility, according to Rolling Stone.
Specifically, under the Federal Death Penalty Act, federal executions happen “in the manner prescribed by the law of the State in which the sentence is imposed.”
The federal act might not be common knowledge, so you could be forgiven for not having heard of it. But there was some litigation over the law during Trump’s execution spree in the waning days of his presidency, while he was also busy attempting to overturn the 2020 election he lost. All of the federal executions were done by lethal injection, and there were arguments over how those lethal injections were carried out (arguments left unresolved thanks to the conservative-majority Supreme Court, which helped the Trump administration rush through 13 executions before he left office).
That’s not to say that the federal government couldn’t possibly execute people by means other than lethal injection, only that they couldn’t do so without any reference to what state procedures call for. (As an aside, some people challenging their executions by lethal injection have raised the firing squad as a more “humane” alternative, but obviously that’s not what’s motivating Trump.)
ROLLING STONE REPORT
“The former president believes this would help put the fear of God into violent criminals,” the source told Rolling Stone. “He wanted to do some of these things when he was in office, but for whatever reasons didn’t have the chance.”
A Trump spokesperson told Insider that Rolling Stone’s third source’s recount of a possible Trump ad campaign featuring televised executions is “ridiculous” and “fake news.”
“Either these people are fabricating lies out of thin air, or Rolling Stone is allowing themselves to be duped by these morons,” the Trump spokesperson told Insider.