WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland made headlines just a few months after taking office when he implemented a moratorium to halt federal executions. This move, in stark contrast to his predecessor’s actions, was accompanied by a pledge from President Biden to abolish the death penalty. Under Garland’s leadership, the Justice Department ceased taking on new death penalty cases.
However, a change in this stance occurred on Friday when federal prosecutors announced their intention to seek capital punishment for a white supremacist who perpetrated a mass shooting in a Buffalo supermarket, resulting in the deaths of 10 Black individuals. This decision does not overturn the suspension on federal executions, but it marks Garland’s first approval of a new capital prosecution, ushering in a new chapter in the intricate history of the death penalty in the U.S.
President Biden’s campaign promise to abolish the death penalty contrasted with the Justice Department’s hesitance to completely abandon it. According to Eric Berger, a law professor at the University of Nebraska, the department, under Garland, has shown a reluctance to use the death penalty, especially in comparison to the Trump administration, while also displaying a continued willingness to employ it in specific cases.
Garland’s leadership at the Justice Department has seen the reversal of more than two dozen decisions to seek the death penalty, emphasizing cases that pose the most harm to the country. Despite this, the department chose not to pursue the death penalty in another high-profile mass shooting case targeting Hispanic people. In contrast, the Buffalo supermarket case, involving a racially motivated mass shooting, has prompted the Justice Department to seek the death penalty.
The decision has sparked different reactions, with some legal experts and advocates criticizing the pursuit of the death penalty, arguing that there is an ongoing debate about the racial discrimination evident within the history of the death penalty. Meanwhile, others cite the severity and racial motivation of the crime as factors that influenced Garland’s decision-making process.
In conclusion, Garland’s approach to the death penalty remains under scrutiny as the Justice Department continues to navigate the complexities of the legal system and considers the impact of severe punishments on young defendants. The decision to seek the death penalty in the Buffalo case illustrates the ongoing debate surrounding capital punishment and its application in cases of extreme violence and racial motivation.