The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to expand the use of the federal death penalty, including through the deployment of firing squads.

The announcement on Friday was part of a policy document issued by the Department of Justice, setting out the legal argument for various methods of execution.

It touted steps for “restoring and strengthening” the death penalty as integral to the pursuit of justice.

“The Department of Justice acted to restore its solemn duty to seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences — clearing the way for the Department to carry out executions once death-sentenced inmates have exhausted their appeals,” the Justice Department said in a news release.

top 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 209 points 4 months ago (8 children)
  1. Build massive secretive camps that house thousands and thousands of people

  2. Raise a personal gestapo to hunt down and disappear immigrants

  3. Pass laws that brand anyone left of Reagan as a domestic terrorist

  4. Call for more firing squads

  5. ???

  • source
  • hideshow 8 child comments
  • load more comments (4 replies)
    [–] 117 points 4 months ago (15 children)

    Whenever capital punishment comes up, I am reminded of the hypocrisy of American Christians.

    Pretty much every Christian claims to believe that killing is prohibited by the ten commandments. In a democracy, if you vote for a politician who supports the death penalty, you are asking them to kill a person on your behalf. A Christian should not be able to vote for a politician who supports the death penalty.

    Compare that with abortion. The bible says virtually nothing about abortion except how to pray for one. If you vote for a pro-choice politician, nobody is being killed on your behalf.

    Compare these two, and it's obvious that a Christian who votes for a pro-death-penalty and anti-abortion candidate is voting against their own religion. But they claim to be voting for Christian values, which is pure hypocrisy.

  • source
  • hideshow 15 child comments
  • [–] 58 points 4 months ago (11 children)

    I think we are reaching a point where its an open secret that the words of Jesus are purely marketing for Christianity and the reality is quite uglier.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
  • load more comments (2 replies)
  • [–] 33 points 4 months ago

    As someone raised in the church, but did not fall into white nationalism like so many Republicans, they will absolutely never be swayed by logic. They're literally brainwashed in a cult. Jesus is no different than a member of antifa to them. They only care about themselves, their cult, its leader, and seeing other people hurt. None of those things are in the ten commandments. If judgement day came today, every single one of them would have a reserved seat in a particularly nasty place in Hell.

  • source
  • parent
  • load more comments (2 replies)
    [–] 91 points 4 months ago (10 children)

    I hope this is foreshadowing for the trump regime being executed as war criminals.

  • source
  • hideshow 10 child comments
  • [–] 13 points 4 months ago (8 children)

    Firing squads are too clean, I want gallows, I want gallows run by someone who ain’t any count at running a gallows, so they all die in terrible ways

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
  • load more comments (1 reply)
  • load more comments (1 reply)
    [–] 75 points 4 months ago (6 children)

    Nothing should be a clearer indication that the death penalty should not exist than lunatics like him controlling it.

  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 60 points 4 months ago (36 children)

    If I supported capital punishment, I'd be in favor of firing squads over lethal injection. It's more honest. Shooting someone is clearly meant to kill while lethal injection dresses it up like a medical procedure.

    I oppose capital punishment though. The criminal justice system is not reliable enough to only punish those truly guilty of the worst crimes, it doesn't seem to be a more effective deterrent than imprisonment, and it usually ends up costing more than imprisonment for an offender's natural lifespan.

  • source
  • hideshow 36 child comments
  • [–] 48 points 4 months ago (16 children)

    I mean...

    There's completely painless ways to die.

    That's what the whole assisted suicide thing is in civilized countries.

    The "problem" is, that's completely painless, you just go to sleep. And the people who want this, want it to be a painful gruesome death.

    It's not justice or even removing an uncontrollable element, it's vengeance. And vengeance has to be painful.

    There's nothing stopping an ethical death penalty except the ethics of the people implementing

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 16 child comments
  • [–] 37 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    And the "can't take it back" aspect. Conviction and execution of innocent people does happen.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • load more comments (4 replies)
  • [–] 15 points 4 months ago (16 children)

    Who would do the actual shooting though? For me this presents a problem. It can go two ways:

    • We have to employ someone that doesn't want to kill people, but does it anyway in an act of duty while suffering the psychological trauma every time they do their job.

    Or even worse...

    • We have to employ someone that does want to kill people, and we're paying them to do it.
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 16 child comments
  • load more comments (10 replies)
  • load more comments (2 replies)
    [–] 40 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    I hope he does this, then the next president comes in and trump gets sentenced to death for treason lol.

    Unlikely but a nice dream

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 16 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    I have absolutely no faith anyone will ever give these psychos any consequenses, especially not any democrat. That would mean they themselves would be open to consequenses, and that simply won't do for the ruling class. The worst that is ever going to happen to Trump through legal and peaceful means, is that he'll be sentenced to house arrest at Mar-a-lago, and even that is doubtful. Any other punishment will have to be done by the people.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • load more comments (3 replies)
  • [–] 40 points 4 months ago

    Abolish the death penalty completely no reason to trust the state with this power.

  • source
  • [–] 35 points 4 months ago

    And everyone on this side of the pond said I'm overreacting by calling trumps immigrant detention centers "concentration camps", but here we are. Even the Nazis didn't start as fast with their genocide as the orange turd seems to try.

  • source
  • [–] 35 points 4 months ago

    He means Death Squads. Every Republican accusation was an admission of guilt.

  • source
  • [–] 34 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    In a two tiered justice system where the rich have no accountability I can't see this being problematic at all. America is a shit hole country now.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • load more comments (2 replies)
    [–] 33 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    Will they start with child rapists?!

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • load more comments (3 replies)
    [–] 30 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Trump should be met by a firing squad. I'm sure there would be lots of volunteers.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 29 points 4 months ago

    The death penalty is anathema to civilised society.

  • source
  • [–] 27 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Can we start with the pedophiles?

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 21 points 4 months ago

    Death penalty is stupid because now ppl who Commit a crime will just all in.

    Death for being a rally? Guess ill just commit to politicians instead

    Death for aborting rapist baby. Guess ill kill the rapist and maybe a few morw while im at it.

    Etc etc

  • source
  • [–] 20 points 4 months ago

    I warned about this before the election. People thought I was crazy...

    Republicans have literally been talking about this for years...

  • source
  • [–] 19 points 4 months ago

    Searching for ways to go as low as possible, this orange administration. Very creative.

  • source
  • [–] 17 points 4 months ago

    Shooting the pedos? Let’s start there.

  • source
  • [–] 16 points 4 months ago*

    Gee, I wonder if capital punishment is going to be recommended for "anti-American values", etc.

    Totally no way that's going to happen.

  • source
  • [–] 12 points 4 months ago

    Let's start with them.

  • source
  • [–] 11 points 4 months ago

    Suprised they're not at the point where they are looking to streamline executions by creating large multi-occupancy gas chambers.

    But I guess even their role models started with firing squads, so nothing to see here...

  • source
  • [+] 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)
    [–] 10 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    Yeah but Harris was once a district attorney. So we get this. Its all the Demmicrats fault.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • load more comments (3 replies)
    [–] 9 points 4 months ago

    Again I ask.

    Does anyone really think those camps are only for immigrants, or criminals?

    Bullshit. They're for us.

  • source
  • load more comments
    view more: next ›