Capital punishment by the United States federal government
Capital punishment is a legal punishment under the criminal justice system of the United States federal government. It is the most serious punishment that could be imposed under federal law. The serious crimes that warrant this punishment include treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court officer in certain cases.
For an overview of capital punishment by all jurisdictions in the United States, see Capital punishment in the United States. For capital punishment by the military, see Capital punishment by the United States military.
The federal government imposes and carries out a small minority of the death sentences in the U.S., with the vast majority being applied by state governments.[1] The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) manages the housing and execution of federal death row prisoners.
In practice, the federal government rarely carries out executions. As a result of the Supreme Court opinion in Furman v. Georgia in 1972, the federal death penalty was suspended from law until its reinstatement by Congress in 1988. No federal executions occurred between 1972 and 2001. From 2001 to 2003, three people were executed by the federal government. No further federal executions occurred from March 18, 2003, up to July 14, 2020, when they resumed under President Donald Trump, during which 13 death row inmates were executed in the last 6 months of his presidency. Since January 16, 2021, no further executions have been performed. On July 1, 2021, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland placed a moratorium on all federal executions pending review of policy and procedures.[2] There are 40 offenders remaining on federal death row.[3]
Legal process[edit]
Sentencing[edit]
In the federal system, the final decision to seek the death penalty rests with the United States Attorney General. This differs from states, where local prosecutors have the final say with no involvement from the state attorney general.[25]
The sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous.
Sentences of death handed down by a jury cannot be rejected by the judge.[26]
In case of a hung jury during the penalty phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial).[27]
Appeals and clemency[edit]
While death row inmates sentenced by state governments may appeal to both state courts and federal courts, federal death row inmates have to appeal directly to federal courts.[28]
The power of clemency and pardon belongs to the President of the United States.
Method[edit]
The method of execution of federal prisoners for offenses under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is that of the state in which the conviction took place. If the state has no death penalty, the judge must select a state with the death penalty for carrying out the execution.[29]
The federal government has a facility and regulations only for executions by lethal injection, but the United States Code allows U.S. Marshals to use state facilities and employees for federal executions.[30][31]
Federal executions occur at the United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute. The method of execution used by the federal government is lethal injection.[32][33]
Pre-Furman federal executions were often conducted by hanging or electrocution, and less commonly by cyanide gas.[34]