Biden backed off a pledge to abolish the federal death penalty. That’s left an opening for Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — As he prepared to take office three years ago, Joe Biden’s incoming administration considered a host of possible options to fulfill a campaign pledge to end the federal death penalty.

One idea was an executive order, according to people familiar with the matter. But the White House did not issue one or push for legislation in Congress. Six months later, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on federal capital punishment to study the protocols used to execute people, a narrower action that has meant no executions under Biden. The Justice Department has since pushed for the death penalty against the suspects charged with mass shootings in Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

Biden doesn’t discuss the death penalty much today. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, consistently vows in campaign speeches to seek execution for drug dealers as part of a national crackdown on crime.

Capital punishment hasn’t shaped a U.S. presidential race since 1988 when Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis was criticized for offering little emotion when asked during a debate if he’d favor the death penalty for the perpetrators if his wife were raped and murdered.

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