Sessions touts death penalty for drug dealers

TALLAHASSEE — U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions pledged to seek the death penalty against largevolume drug traffickers Thursday, echoing comments made by President Donald Trump in recent weeks.

He made the remarks during a visit to Tallahassee to tout the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the opioid addiction epidemic across the nation.

“We cannot allow drug dealers to walk our streets thinking that they will get away with their crimes or that they will only get a slap on the wrist,” Sessions said. “They need to know that this administration will not hesitate to pursue the maximum sentences allowed by law, including the death penalty.”

Federal and state laws allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty against large-scale drug dealers, but that provision has never been used.

Sessions issued a memo Tuesday to federal prosecutors, urging them to seek capital punishment against drug dealers “when appropriate.” He highlighted the White House’s plans to reduce opioid addiction, recently announced by Trump, including the addition of 250 Drug Enforcement Agency officers dedicated to areas hit hardest by the epidemic, as well as “dozens more” analysts.

Part of the effort includes additional federal prosecutors focusing on opioid-related health care fraud. Session said he added 12 prosecutors in opioid “hot spots,” including in the Middle District of Florida, which includes Orlando.

In his comments Thursday to local and federal law enforcement officials, he stressed the urgency of the opioid epidemic meant the ultimate penalty was needed.

There were more than 63,600 drug overdoses nationwide in 2016, up more than 10,000 over the prior year and, as Sessions noted, the equivalent of the population of Daytona Beach. Opioid overdoses made up 42,000 of that total.

“Our message should be clear: Business as usual is over,” Sessions said.