26 July 2023 :

(July 13, 2023) - Federal death penalty ban reintroduced in Congress
A bill to ban the use of capital punishment by the federal government was reintroduced in Congress, where it faces steep odds for passage.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who is also Senate majority whip and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., reintroduced July 13 their bill, the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act, bicameral legislation that would prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing for those individuals currently on death row.
In a statement, Durbin called the death penalty "deeply flawed and disproportionately imposed on Black and Brown and low-income people in America."
"Our bill follows the lead of 23 states, including Illinois, by finally putting an end to this failed and unjust policy at the federal level," Durbin said. "I thank Congresswoman Pressley and our colleagues who are joining us in this effort."
In her own statement, Pressley said, "State-sanctioned murder is not justice, and it's time we abolish the cruel, racist, and fundamentally flawed death penalty that has been weaponized against Black, brown and low-income people for far too long."
"With momentum growing across the country, Congress must follow suit and pass our bill to end the federal death penalty once and for all," Pressley said. "I'm grateful to Chairman Durbin and our movement partners for their continued partnership and commitment to getting this done."
The 2023 version of the legislation, which was originally introduced by the same lawmakers in 2019 after the U.S. Department of Justice's announcement during the Trump administration that it would resume the use of the death penalty.
A spokesperson for the U.S. bishop’s conference told OSV News the group plans to support the bill. The conference also supported previous versions of the legislation.
Although President Joe Biden promised as a candidate that he would end the federal death penalty, the bill faces steep odds in Congress, where a Republican-controlled House is likely to oppose it. But the bill also faces difficult odds in the Democratically-controlled Senate, where it would need the support of 60 senators to clear the upper chamber's filibuster rule.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/federal-death-penalty-ban-reintroduced-congress