In the first hours of his return to the White House, President Trump issued an executive order concerning the death penalty. Several provisions could prove to be quite significant.
"The Attorney General shall evaluate the places of imprisonment and conditions of confinement for each of the 37 murderers whose Federal death sentences were commuted by President Biden, and the Attorney General shall take all lawful and appropriate action to ensure that these offenders are imprisoned in conditions consistent with the monstrosity of their crimes and the threats they pose."
Second, the president has directed the Attorney General to refer federal inmates for state prosecution. Given there is no statute of limitation for murder, states remain free to prosecute those who had their federal sentences commuted.
Third, the president ordered the Attorney General to provide states with the execution drugs.
Finally, the president urged the Attorney General to challenge Supreme Court precedents on the death penalty. "Sec. 5. Seeking The Overruling of Supreme Court Precedents That Hinder Capital Punishment. The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action to seek the overruling of Supreme Court precedents that limit the authority of State and Federal governments to impose capital punishment."
A moratorium on federal executions has been in place since 2021, and only three people remain on federal death row after outgoing President Joe Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.