Dozens of current and incoming Congress members have signed a letter written by Rep. Ayanna Pressley
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In the letter, reported by CNN, Pressley claims the Trump administration for resuming federal executions this year amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and for executing “more people in six months than the total number executed during the six previous decades “.
“The current administration has armed capital punishment with a disregard for human life,” Pressley said.
“With a stroke of the pen, you can stop all federal executions, ban U.S. lawyers from seeking the death penalty, dismantle the death row at the FCC Terre Haute, and demand the resentment of people currently convicted of dead, “Pressley continued in the letter to Biden.
“Each of these elements is critical to help prevent further damage and further loss of life,” he added.
According to CNN, 40 current members of Congress and three newly elected lawmakers have joined the Pressley convocations.
The Hill has contacted the Pressley office for comment.
Biden has pledged to work to pass legislation to abolish the federal death penalty and provide incentives for states to encourage them to do the same, even though Democrats in Congress are pushing for the death penalty to end immediately. federal once he takes office on Jan. 20.
The news of the letter comes days after the controversial federal execution of Brandon Bernard.
Bernard had been executed by phenobarbital injection on Thursday despite widespread public calls and prominent figures such as Kim Kardashian
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“He was such a reformed person. So hopeful and positive to the end. Most importantly, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for the pain and the pain you’ve caused others, ”Kardashian said after her death.
Bernard, 40 at the time of his death, was 18 when he was involved in the kidnapping and murder of a religious couple in Texas. The couple, who had been from Iowa, were reportedly placed in the trunk of a car by a group of teenagers and shot by a man named Christopher Vialva.
Vialva was the first black man killed by the federal execution since the Trump administration resumed punishment in the summer after a 17-year hiatus.
Another black man, Alfred Bourgeois, was also executed last week. According to The Associated Press, three more prisoners are expected to be executed before Biden takes office. Two of them are also black men and the other is a white woman.
Last year, Pressley introduced a measure that sought to abolish the death penalty shortly after the Trump administration announced it would resume the form of punishment.
Calls for the measure have only increased given the Trump administration’s move to move forward with executions, even as its transition from power to the next administration continues.