Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Imposes a Moratorium on Federal Executions; Orders Review of Policies and Procedures
The title of this post is the heading of this notable new US Justice Department press release. Here is the main text of the press release:
Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued a memorandum imposing a moratorium on federal executions while a review of the Justice Department’s policies and procedures is pending.
“The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely,” said Attorney General Garland. “That obligation has special force in capital cases.”
Share
Source: Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP
On Thursday night, a press release from the Department of Justice announced that Attorney General Merrick Garland was issuing a memo imposing a moratorium on federal executions.
The attorney general also ordered a review of recent policy changes from the Trump administration. Such a review is set to include:
A review coordinated by the Office of Legal Policy of the Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol, adopted in 2019, which will assess, among other things, the risk of pain and suffering associated with the use of pentobarbital.
A review coordinated by the Office of Legal Policy to consider changes to Justice Department regulations made in November 2020 that expanded the permissible methods of execution beyond lethal injection, and authorized the use of state facilities and personnel in federal executions.
Sentencing Law and Policy
Federal Sentencing Reporter issue considers After Trump: The Future of the President’s Pardon Power
It strikes me as a great bit of great timing, as we head into a weekend celebrating our great nation s declaration of independence from a monarchy, that the new issue of the
Federal Sentencing Reporter focused on the pardon power in the US Constitution is just now available online. It is often said that the presidential pardon authority in Article II section 2 of the Constitution is the most kingly power given to our chief executive, and former Prez Donald Trump certainly seemed at times to bring a mad King George quality to his activities in this arena. Notably, as explained in the intro to this June 2021 issue of
Justice Department Issues Federal Execution Moratorium govexec.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from govexec.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.