{"id":2329783,"date":"2024-08-23T06:03:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T10:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/death-penalty-divide-trump-urges-more-capital-punishment-while-harris-silent-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-23T06:08:30","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T10:08:30","slug":"death-penalty-divide-trump-urges-more-capital-punishment-while-harris-silent-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/death-penalty-divide-trump-urges-more-capital-punishment-while-harris-silent-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Death penalty divide: Trump urges more capital punishment while Harris silent &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdeath-penalty-divide-trump-urges-more-capital-punishment-while-harris-silent-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2329783&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the contrasting \u200dviews on the death penalty between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump has pledged\u2062 to intensify the use of the death penalty if re-elected, specifically targeting those guilty of sex trafficking and drug trafficking, citing examples of its effectiveness in other countries. He \u2063has criticized the lengthy processes surrounding death row\u200b cases and has indicated a desire for \u200bexpedited trials.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Harris has remained silent on the death penalty despite her\u200b background as a prosecutor, \u2064and her administration has\u2062 experienced scrutiny for not taking\u2063 a definitive stance \u2064on the issue. Although \u2064the\u200c Department of \u2063Justice had initially announced a moratorium on federal executions, it later sought the death penalty in certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-will-hear-boston-marathon-bomber-execution-case\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Will Hear Boston Marathon Bomber Execution Case\">high-profile cases<\/a>, \u2062stirring controversy among opponents of capital punishment. The article highlights the broader implications of their positions, especially as the death penalty\u200d remains a divisive topic in \u200bthe U.S.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Death penalty divide: Trump urges more capital punishment while Harris silent<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1735615\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump<\/a>&nbsp;has signaled he will continue his administration&rsquo;s aggressive pursuit of the death penalty if he is elected, while Vice President Kamala Harris has gone mum on the issue.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Trump&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3131163\/watch-live-trump-inspects-us-mexico-border-in-arizona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">made<\/a>&nbsp;his most detailed comments yet on capital punishment since launching his campaign during remarks at the Arizona border on Thursday, at the same time that Harris has come&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/democrats-scrub-death-penalty-campaign-platform_n_66c67a0de4b0b9c7b360296b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">under scrutiny<\/a>&nbsp;for her silence on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>As he was addressing punishments for illegal migrants who commit crimes, Trump said he would impose the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-the-cop-image-not-all-its-cracked-up-to-be-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"\u2018Kamala the cop\u2019 image not all it\u2019s cracked up to be - Washington Examiner\">death penalty &#038;ldquo<\/a>;for anyone guilty of child or woman sex trafficking.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump has also repeatedly suggested that a solution to the nation&rsquo;s drug trafficking and addiction problems is to impose the death penalty on drug traffickers, citing countries such as China, which he has said successfully combats illegal drugs with a punishment of death. The former president reiterated those sentiments Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll also impose the death penalty on major drug dealers and traffickers,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;In other countries on their immigration papers, there is a statement that says, &lsquo;Death for drug traffickers.&rsquo; Big letters, big bold letters, 10 times the size of everything else on the page. I saw it this morning, and those are the countries where they have no problem with drugs.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WATCH LIVE: Trump holds a rally  in Montezuma Pass, AZ\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Izkq6yR1-oU?start=3400&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>It is unclear which countries Trump was referring to, but <em>Politifact<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/factchecks\/2018\/mar\/14\/donald-trump\/donald-trump-says-china-singapore-have-death-penal\/\">found<\/a>&nbsp;in 2018 that Trump accurately made similar comments about China and Singapore imposing the death penalty for drug trafficking. The outlet also noted, though, that there is little data to assess how effective the policy was in those countries.<\/p>\n<p>Trump said his administration would also seek the death penalty for those who kill police, U.S. Border Patrol officers, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, Trump addressed the protracted period of time that criminals wait on death row, saying his administration would seek a &ldquo;quicker trial, not a trial that lasts 15 years and everybody gets exhausted.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>His comments align with the Trump administration&rsquo;s historic use of the death penalty. Sixteen federal executions have been&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/deathpenaltyinfo.org\/state-and-federal-info\/federal-death-penalty\/executions-under-the-federal-death-penalty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>carried out<\/a>&nbsp;since 1988, all by lethal injection. Thirteen of them were under Trump&rsquo;s tenure, when Attorney General Bill Barr lifted an Obama-era freeze on them.<\/p>\n<p>Harris, a former district attorney and California attorney general, has embraced a persona as &ldquo;prosecutor&rdquo; on the campaign trail, but she has a complicated history with the death penalty and has taken no position on it since she was chosen as Trump&rsquo;s opponent.<\/p>\n<p>During Harris&rsquo;s tenure as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-defector-emails-pipeline-to-obama-admin-seen-as-currency\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden Defector Emails: &#039;Pipeline&#039; to Obama Admin Seen as &#039;Currency&#039;\">vice president<\/a>, the Department of Justice&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-imposes-moratorium-federal-executions-orders-review\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>vowed<\/a>&nbsp;to halt federal executions, but it did not entirely live up to that promise.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on them in 2021 but changed gears in January when government prosecutors sought the death penalty for 20-year-old Payton Gendron. Gendron pleaded guilty to murdering 10 black people in a racially motivated attack at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors under Garland also asked for the death penalty in two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-81-election-fraud-cases-brought-to-courts-30-active-cases\/\" title=\"Report: 81 election fraud cases brought to courts, 30 active cases\">cases brought<\/a> by the Trump administration: Robert Bowers&rsquo;s murder of 11 people at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue and Islamic extremist Sayfullo Saipov&rsquo;s murder of eight people in a New York City bike path.<\/p>\n<p>No federal executions have been carried out since Harris became vice president,&nbsp;but the DOJ&rsquo;s authorization of the death penalty in rare cases upset&nbsp;opponents of it. Gendron is fighting his punishment in court, Bowers&rsquo;s appeal is still playing out, and Saipov received a life sentence despite prosecutors asking for death. Bowers is among about 40 defendants currently&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/deathpenaltyinfo.org\/state-and-federal-info\/federal-death-penalty\/list-of-federal-death-row-prisoners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sitting<\/a>&nbsp;on death row.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty years ago, Harris opposed the death penalty and received significant&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/04\/08\/politics\/kamala-harris-death-penalty-decisions\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blowback<\/a>&nbsp;when she announced as San Francisco district attorney that she would not seek it in the slaying of police officer Isaac Espinoza.<\/p>\n<p>But later, when she campaigned for California attorney general, she said she would &ldquo;enforce the death penalty as the law dictates.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>She once again flip-flopped on capital punishment when she unsuccessfully ran for president in 2019, saying she would institute a moratorium on it.<\/p>\n<p>Now, amid a competitive campaign against Trump, Harris is facing a crossroads as she has embraced a&nbsp;tough-on-crime brand, at least when it comes to her opponent, whom she describes as a &ldquo;convicted felon.&rdquo; Her party has historically opposed the death penalty, but Trump has called for cracking down on crime with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Harris&rsquo;s unclear stance on the topic, the newly released Democratic 2024 platform makes no mention of the death penalty, which the <em>Huff Post<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/democrats-scrub-death-penalty-campaign-platform_n_66c67a0de4b0b9c7b360296b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">observed<\/a>&nbsp;was a first for the party since 2004.<\/p>\n<p>A Harris campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1735615\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1735615\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**Death Penalty Divide: Trump Advocates for Increased Capital Punishment While Harris Remains Silent**<\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump has indicated that he will persist with his administration&#8217;s strong push for the death penalty if re-elected, while Vice President Kamala Harris has not commented on the issue. During a speech at the Arizona border, Trump provided his most comprehensive statements on capital punishment since starting his campaign, coinciding with growing scrutiny of Harris&#8217;s silence regarding the topic. While discussing penalties for illegal immigrants who commit crimes, Trump stated he would enforce the death penalty &#8220;for anyone guilty of child or woman sex trafficking.&#8221; He has also suggested that imposing the death penalty on drug traffickers could help address national drug issues, referencing countries like China as examples where such measures have been effective.<\/p>\n<p>Trump reiterated these views during his recent remarks: &#8220;We\u2019ll also impose the death penalty on major drug dealers and traffickers,&#8221; adding that in some countries&#8217; immigration documents there is a clear warning stating &#8220;Death for drug traffickers.&#8221; Although it is unclear which specific countries he was referring to, Politifact noted in 2018 that Trump&#8217;s comments about China and Singapore enforcing capital punishment for drug trafficking were accurate; however, data assessing its effectiveness remains limited.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Trump mentioned seeking the death penalty for individuals who kill police officers or Border Patrol agents. He criticized lengthy waits on death row and promised to pursue quicker trials instead of protracted legal processes. His statements reflect a continuation of his administration\u2019s historic use of capital punishment\u201416 federal executions have occurred since 1988, with 13 taking place during Trump&#8217;s presidency after Attorney General Bill Barr lifted an Obama-era moratorium.<\/p>\n<p>Harris has positioned herself as a &#8220;prosecutor&#8221; throughout her campaign but holds a complicated history regarding capital punishment and has not taken a definitive stance since becoming Trump&#8217;s opponent. During her vice presidency, while there was an intention from the Department of Justice to halt federal executions entirely under Attorney General Merrick Garland&#8217;s leadership\u2014a promise not fully realized\u2014there were still instances where prosecutors sought the death penalty in high-profile cases.<\/p>\n<p>No federal executions have occurred since Harris took office; however, DOJ authorization in select cases sparked discontent among opponents of capital punishment. Current cases include Payton Gendron\u2019s racially motivated attack resulting in ten deaths and Robert Bowers\u2019 synagogue shooting case from which appeals are ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>Historically opposed to capital punishment two decades ago when she served as San Francisco district attorney\u2014facing backlash when she opted against pursuing it in an officer&#8217;s murder case\u2014Harris later stated she would enforce it as California attorney general. She again shifted her position during her unsuccessful presidential run in 2019 by advocating for a moratorium on executions.<\/p>\n<p>Now facing off against Trump amid heightened competition within their campaigns\u2014and branding him as a \u201cconvicted felon\u201d\u2014Harris finds herself at a pivotal moment concerning her stance on crime policy amidst party opposition to capital punishment. Notably absent from discussions is any mention of this issue within newly released Democratic platforms\u2014a first since 2004\u2014as reported by Huff Post. A request for comment from Harris\u2019s campaign went unanswered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2329784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AP24235803440955.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[39043,33571,4021,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2329783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-capital-punishment","tag-death-penalty","tag-harris","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AP24235803440955.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2329783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2329784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2329783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2329783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2329783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}