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US Prosecutors Urged to Seek Death Penalty in Some Drug-Related Cases

by Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON --

   Two days after President Donald Trump unveiled his plan to fight the
   opioid epidemic, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo to
   the nation's top prosecutors, urging them to seek the death penalty in
   certain drug cases.

   "To combat this deadly epidemic," Sessions wrote Wednesday, "federal
   prosecutors must consider every lawful tool at their disposal,"
   including the pursuit of capital punishment in appropriate cases.

   Sessions' memo came after Trump on Monday rolled out a plan to fight
   the nation's opioid crisis, including a proposal to seek capital
   punishment in some drug cases.

   "If we don't get tough on the drug dealers, we are wasting our time,"
   Trump, a longtime advocate of capital punishment, said at a rally in
   New Hampshire, a state hit particularly hard by the opioid crisis. "And
   that toughness includes the death penalty."

   In his memo, Sessions cited several existing laws that call for the
   death penalty in certain drug-related cases, including certain
   racketeering activities, the use of a firearm resulting in death during
   drug trafficking and dealing in extremely large quantities of drugs.

   "I strongly encourage prosecutors to use these statutes, when
   appropriate, to aid in our continuing fight against drug trafficking
   and the destruction it causes in our nation," Sessions said.

   Staggering numbers

   The opioid epidemic has grown increasingly deadly. In 2016, there were
   nearly 64,000 drug overdoses in the United States, more than 42,000
   caused by opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
   Prevention.

   While some Trump supporters have welcomed the president's call for the
   death penalty, opponents of capital punishment say it's an ineffective
   way of dealing with a problem that they say calls for a multi-pronged
   solution.

   "Major traffickers should face serious consequences for their actions,
   but the administration's call for the death penalty is beyond the
   pale," Ames Grawert, senior counsel in the Justice Program at the
   Brennan Center, said in a statement. "Like unnecessarily long prison
   sentences, there is no evidence that the death penalty actually
   prevents crime. It's an ineffective way to address this problem.

   The administration's proposal is likely to face a legal challenge, he
   said, noting the Supreme Court has "consistently refused to sanction
   the use of the death penalty in crimes other than homicide."

   He added that there has never been execution under the laws that calls
   for capital punishment in certain drug-related cases.