Sessions urges prosecutors to seek death penalty against major drug dealers

Following President Donald Trump’s public calls to execute drug pushers, Attorney General Jeff Sessions instructed federal prosecutors Wednesday to seek the death penalty against major drug dealers in response to the nation’s opioid crisis.

Federal executions are extremely rare _ only three inmates have been put to death since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988 – and Sessions’ brief directive is unlikely to lead to a dramatic increase since he did not propose new laws.

He instead cited U.S. laws that have been on the books for decades, including a measure passed by Congress during the Clinton-era war on drugs in the 1990s that permits prosecutors to seek the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking. No one has been executed under it.

But under federal law, the U.S. attorney general has the final say on whether to seek the death penalty and Sessions clearly signaled that he will do so. Since taking office, he has made a priority of cracking down on violent crime and street gangs like MS-13.

“Drug traffickers, transnational criminal organizations and violent street gangs all contribute substantially to this scourge,” Sessions said Wednesday, referring to opioid abuse. “To combat this deadly epidemic, federal prosecutors must consider every lawful tool at their disposal.”

– Appeal-democrat news services