By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Tuesday he is reviewing the Justice Department’s federal death penalty policies and he expects to issue a statement when his review is complete.
“I said at my confirmation hearing that I have concerns about the death penalty …and I’m concerned about disparate impact on Black Americans,” Garland told reporters at the Justice Department.
“I have been personally reviewing the processes of the department with respect to the death penalty,” he said, adding he expects to issue a statement soon on the issue.
The Biden administration has faced increasing pressure from criminal justice advocates to return to a long-standing moratorium on the federal death penalty, after the Trump administration in its waning final months carried out 13 executions.
President Joe Biden pledged during his campaign to support legislation to end the death penalty, and Garland has previously said he has concerns about the practice.
To date, however, the Biden administration has not taken any steps to curtail its use, and in fact the Justice Department last week urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate the death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted in the deadly 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Chris Reese)
