Published on: Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Tuesday he is reviewing the Justice Department's federal death penalty policies and he expects to issue a statement when his review is complete (article available here).

"I said at my confirmation hearing that I have concerns about the death penalty ...and I'm concerned about disparate impact on Black Americans," Garland told reporters at the Justice Department. "I have been personally reviewing the processes of the department with respect to the death penalty," he said, adding he expects to issue a statement soon on the issue, without giving a timeline.

The Biden administration has faced increasing pressure from criminal justice advocates to return to a long-standing moratorium on the federal death penalty, after the Trump administration in its waning final months carried out 13 executions. President Joe Biden pledged during his campaign to support legislation to end the death penalty. To date, however, the Biden administration has not taken any steps to curtail its use, and in fact last week, the Justice Department urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate the death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted in the deadly 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.