U.S. Justice Department to resume capital punishment after 16-year hiatus
- 5 years ago
The U.S. government has ordered the death penalty be reinstated for the first time in 16 years.
Attorney General William Barr directed the Justice Department on Thursday to schedule the execution of five inmates in December and January, after adopting a new rule for carrying out the death penalty.
All five were convicted of murdering children and four of the five had also killed adults.
Barr said the government owes it to the victims and their families to carry out the sentence imposed by justice system.
The last federal execution in the U.S. occurred in 2003 for an inmate who had raped and murdered a teenage female soldier.
Attorney General William Barr directed the Justice Department on Thursday to schedule the execution of five inmates in December and January, after adopting a new rule for carrying out the death penalty.
All five were convicted of murdering children and four of the five had also killed adults.
Barr said the government owes it to the victims and their families to carry out the sentence imposed by justice system.
The last federal execution in the U.S. occurred in 2003 for an inmate who had raped and murdered a teenage female soldier.