Pro-publica released a report on the DOJ and the use of the death penalty in the last months of Trump’s term on December 23rd, 2020.

The report is six months old, and that is a problem because we are now just learning of the specifics of the allegations, and the fact that it was released two days before Christmas and two weeks before January 6th likely had something to do with how it sort of “got lost.” Or, to be fair, at the very least, it got below our radar, which is unusual.

Bill Barr should be facing charges that could easily result in life in prison. The actions he took during his last days in office, and – more generally – Trump’s last days in office, are scary enough that they are difficult to read and almost impossible to process how it could happen in this country. This is third world despotic stuff.

From the Pro-Publica report:

In its hurry to use its final days in power to execute federal prisoners, the administration of President Donald Trump has trampled over an array of barriers, both legal and practical, according to court records that have not been previously reported.**

(Remember, dated December 23, 2020.) Yes, it says “the Trump Administration” but Trump had as much to do with this policy as he did with the development of the vaccine. Nothing. He likely didn’t know. (Though that is speculation). And, all of this requires Barr, who is the one who would know how to implement the policy.

-Officials gave public explanations for their choice of which prisoners should die that misstated key facts from the cases.
-They moved ahead with executions in the middle of the night.
-They left one prisoner strapped to the gurney while lawyers worked to remove a court order.
-They executed a second prisoner while an appeal was still pending, leaving the court to then dismiss the appeal as “moot” because the man was already dead.

And, most tellingly
-They bought drugs from a secret pharmacy that failed a quality test. They hired private executioners and paid them in cash.

Okay, we are already so far out of bounds that it’s just… it’s inexplicable how this can happen. Normally, a governor and the SCOTUS is practically on the phone in the last hour before an execution, there are steps planned down to the minute. This would need Barr and many other people involved to implement. The last point, the “secret pharmacy” and private executioners paid in cash seals the deal. They knew they were committing crimes and trying to cover up a record.

The report goes on to document relatively irrelevant stuff about the past history of a federal death penalty and it being part of Trump’s “law and order” attitude. But this has absolutely nothing to do with that. This was a rush to death for the sake of the deaths. Do not talk to us about policy, he had already lost the elections. They wanted people dead.

The Justice Department has killed 10 people since July, with three more executions scheduled before Biden’s inauguration. Most every federal agency is rushing to wrap up unfinished business, cementing policy objectives in ways that will make them harder for the incoming president to unwind. But the Justice Department’s pressing forward with executions, even after the election of a new president who opposes them, is uniquely irreversible.

The White House and BOP declined to comment. In a statement, the Justice Department said: “Seeking the death penalty and carrying out capital sentences is not a political issue, nor have political considerations influenced the department’s decisions. The death penalty is a law enforcement and public safety issue, and the department is obligated to carry forward these sentences regardless of who is the president or the attorney general.”

Correct, but ONLY in those circumstances where the law is followed to the letter. Because the death penalty is entirely irreversible, and – of late, found to be not entirely reliable, both in terms of guilt, or manner of execution, there is simply no excuse for this.

We strongly believe that this report got buried by events it couldn’t control. Now that investigations into the departments are at least “starting” to occur, it is time to study this with the utmost seriousness and scrutiny. It is not hyperbole to say that William Barr’s life – at least as a free man – should be on the line. He had them pay in cash for god’s sake.

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