The White House says it has drafted legislation along with the Justice Department that would expedite the death penalty for people found guilty of committing mass shootings, Fox News reports. Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, said the initiative is part of a larger White House gun control package that will be sent to Congress next week. The issue could be contentious among Democrats seeking to unseat President Trump in 2020. Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) has sought to revive his struggling candidacy by calling for a mandatory buyback of “assault weapons,” but he also has insisted, in a recent policy shift, that capital punishment is categorically wrong.
President Donald Trump wants to ensure that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty … quickly, decisively, and without years of needless delay.” Attorney General William Barr has said that the federal government will resume capital punishment and will move forward with plans to execute five inmates on death row for the first time in more than 15 years.