Trump's Last Minute Execution Spree

Donald Trump’s tumultuous time in the White House is almost at an end. So, what last minute actions has he taken to leave his mark? Well, in his last few months as president he has embarked on a killing spree of inmates on death row. Trump has pushed forward the executions of 13 federal prisoners since July 2020, making it the highest number of federal executions under one president since the 19th Century[1].

The majority of prisoners on death row are under the jurisdiction of states, however, a small number are under federal control. Twenty-two states have abolished the death penalty in the US and the federal government had been following this downward trend with no federal executions since 2003.

Trump, however, has long been a vocal supporter of the death penalty, offhandedly stating ‘I don’t even understand people that don’t’. In 2018, Trump even advocated the use of the death penalty for drug offences. This goes against the declining support for the death penalty amongst the public, although the majority of Americans still support it according to Gallup polls[2]

Amongst the 13 people killed by the US government since July there were 6 black men, one woman and the only Native American man on death row. This last person, in particular, was a controversial choice given that Native American tribes are legally allowed to opt out of the death penalty for crimes that happen on tribal land involving tribe members. Lezmond Mitchell’s crime was such a crime and, despite the Navajo Nation government pleading with the federal government to drop the death penalty, Trump’s administration pressed ahead and Mitchell was executed by lethal injection on 26th August 2020. [3]

The history of the death penalty in the US, like the history of its prisons, is rooted in racism. The death penalty has been given disproportionately to black men, particularly in cases where the victim was white, and has been called a “direct descendant of lynching”[4]. Lynching was a form of racial terror which killed many innocent black people, commonly accused of sexually assaulting white women, often with no evidence. When these extrajudicial killings became unacceptable in the wake of the civil rights movement, they were in part replaced by the death penalty, just as slavery has been supplanted by the mass-incarceration of black Americans.

States with the highest lynching rates, also have the highest execution rates.

The most common argument against the death penalty is that the courts get it wrong. Since the 1970s there were 173 people exonerated on death row, meaning they would have faced execution had lawyers not fought their cases[5]. Trump’s attempt to speed up the execution process leaves less time for lawyers to fight the cases of potentially innocent people.

The transition of violent racism from public spaces to behind prison doors is well documented. It has become institutionalised and legalised, seen through mass-incarceration, police brutality and the state’s execution of its black citizens. The storming of the Capitol on 6th January 2021 shocked the world showing the violent and racist aggression of the American right. However, when the brutality and racial bias of state institutions is examined, the sentiments of the white protesters can be seen in its most insidious from. Trump may be leaving the White House but white supremacy lives on.

References: [1] The Guardian. 2020. Trump, the death penalty and its links with America’s racist history. Today in Focus. [podcast]. https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/jan/15/trump-the-death-penalty-and-its-relationship-with-americas-racist-history [2] Gallup. 2021. Death Penalty. https://news.gallup.com/poll/1606/death-penalty.aspx [3] Fonseca, F. 2020. Execution of Native American man stirs emotion within tribe. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/execution-native-american-man-stirs-emotion-tribe-72551612 [4] Equality Justice Initiative. 2021. Death Penalty. https://eji.org/issues/death-penalty/ [5] The Guardian. 2020. Trump, the death penalty and its links with America’s racist history. Today in Focus. [podcast]. https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2021/jan/15/trump-the-death-penalty-and-its-relationship-with-americas-racist-history