[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 19 (Thursday, January 30, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8463-8465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02012]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90 , No. 19 / Thursday, January 30, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
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Executive Order 14164 of January 20, 2025
Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public
Safety
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. Capital punishment is an essential
tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit
the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence
against American citizens. Before, during, and after
the founding of the United States, our cities, States,
and country have continuously relied upon capital
punishment as the ultimate deterrent and only proper
punishment for the vilest crimes. Our Founders knew
well that only capital punishment can bring justice and
restore order in response to such evil. For this and
other reasons, capital punishment continues to enjoy
broad popular support.
Yet for too long, politicians and judges who oppose
capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws
of our country. At every turn, they seek to thwart the
execution of lawfully imposed capital sentences and
choose to enforce their personal beliefs rather than
the law. When President Biden took office in 2021, he
allowed his Department of Justice to issue a moratorium
on Federal executions, in defiance of his duty to
faithfully execute the laws of the United States that
provide for capital punishment. And on December 23,
2024, President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of
the 40 most vile and sadistic rapists, child molesters,
and murderers on Federal death row: remorseless
criminals who brutalized young children, strangled and
drowned their victims, and hunted strangers for sport.
He commuted their sentences even though the laws of our
Nation have always protected victims by applying
capital punishment to barbaric acts like theirs. Judges
who oppose capital punishment have likewise disregarded
the law by falsely claiming that capital punishment is
unconstitutional, even though the Constitution
explicitly acknowledges the legality of capital
punishment.
These efforts to subvert and undermine capital
punishment defy the laws of our nation, make a mockery
of justice, and insult the victims of these horrible
crimes. The Government's most solemn responsibility is
to protect its citizens from abhorrent acts, and my
Administration will not tolerate efforts to stymie and
eviscerate the laws that authorize capital punishment
against those who commit horrible acts of violence
against American citizens.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States
to ensure that the laws that authorize capital
punishment are respected and faithfully implemented,
and to counteract the politicians and judges who
subvert the law by obstructing and preventing the
execution of capital sentences.
Sec. 3. Federal Capital Punishment. (a) The Attorney
General shall pursue the death penalty for all crimes
of a severity demanding its use.
(b) In addition to pursuing the death penalty where
possible, the Attorney General shall, where consistent
with applicable law, pursue Federal jurisdiction and
seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for
every federal capital crime involving:
(i) The murder of a law-enforcement officer; or
(ii) A capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this
country.
The Attorney General shall encourage State attorneys
general and district attorneys to bring State capital
charges for all capital crimes with special
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attention to the crimes described in Subsections (i)
and (ii), regardless of whether the federal trial
results in a capital sentence.
(d) The Attorney General shall take all appropriate
action to modify the Justice Manual based on the policy
and purpose set forth in this Executive Order.
(e) The Attorney General shall evaluate the places
of imprisonment and conditions of confinement for each
of the 37 murderers whose Federal death sentences were
commuted by President Biden, and the Attorney General
shall take all lawful and appropriate action to ensure
that these offenders are imprisoned in conditions
consistent with the monstrosity of their crimes and the
threats they pose. The Attorney General shall further
evaluate whether these offenders can be charged with
State capital crimes and shall recommend appropriate
action to state and local authorities.
Sec. 4. Preserving Capital Punishment in the States.
(a) The Attorney General shall take all necessary and
lawful action to ensure that each state that allows
capital punishment has a sufficient supply of drugs
needed to carry out lethal injection.
(b) The Attorney General shall take all appropriate
action to approve or deny any pending request for
certification made by any State under 28 U.S.C. 2265.
Sec. 5. Seeking The Overruling of Supreme Court
Precedents That Hinder Capital Punishment. The Attorney
General shall take all appropriate action to seek the
overruling of Supreme Court precedents that limit the
authority of State and Federal governments to impose
capital punishment.
Sec. 6. Prosecuting Crime to Protect Communities. (a)
The Attorney General shall appropriately prioritize
public safety and the prosecution of violent crime, and
take all appropriate action necessary to dismantle
transnational criminal activity in the United States.
(b) To ensure the fullest protection of American
communities from violence, the Attorney General shall
encourage state attorneys general and district
attorneys to adopt policies and practices aligned with
subsection (a). Federal law enforcement should
coordinate with State and local law enforcement where
possible to facilitate these objectives.
Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
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(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 20, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-02012
Filed 1-29-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P