Biden running out of time to fulfill 2020 campaign pledge to abolish federal death penalty

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President Biden is running out of time to fulfill his 2020 presidential campaign promise to abolish the death penalty, leaving an opening for his opposition to capitalize on the issue.

During Biden’s 2020 campaign, he vowed to end the federal death penalty and, after taking office three years ago, his incoming administration considered several possible options to do so.

However, none came to fruition, and there are about eight months until the November election.

While Biden has yet to act on capital punishment, former President Trump has taken the issue on the campaign trail with him, vowing to extend the penalty to drug dealers.

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In January 2021, Biden initially considered an executive order, people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press, but the White House did not issue one.

It also did not push Congress for legislation barring it.

Six months into the administration, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on federal capital punishment to study it further. The narrow action has meant there have been no federal executions under Biden, but it simply put the death penalty on a temporary hold.

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