How Trump could implement his death penalty agenda
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Trump campaigned heavily on expanding the death penalty and has asked attorney general to help states obtain lethal injection drugs. Just hours after taking the oath of office, President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders, including one directing the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to help states obtain lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.
![[Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action, and other death penalty opponents hold a demonstration outside the Alabama Capitol in September]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/15/21/Alabama_Execution_34027.jpg)
The executive order — titled Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety — directs the attorney general to ensure pro-death penalty states have a sufficient supply of drugs needed to carry out lethal injection. But those drugs are notoriously difficult to get, and states with lethal injection executions have turned to other methods as a result.
![[Alabama’s lethal injection facility]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/06/20/Death_Penalty_Alabama_39004.jpg)
Eleven states use pentobarbital for their executions, including Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved the drug for executions. State and federal governments typically rely on pharmacies to obtain the drugs. Over the years, the medications have become nearly impossible to obtain as the names of supplying pharmacies become public and created a significant backlash, making fewer pharmacies willing to produce them.
Given this, it remains unclear how the order will be implemented. Trump extensively spoke about expanding capital punishment while on the campaign trail. He’s advocated for an increase in federal executions and making more people eligible for the death penalty. Only three people remain on federal death row after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 offenders to life in prison.
