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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 19 (Thursday, January 30, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8463-8465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02012]



                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 90 , No. 19 / Thursday, January 30, 2025 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 8463]]

                Executive Order 14164 of January 20, 2025

                
Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public 
                Safety

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered:

                Section 1. Purpose. Capital punishment is an essential 
                tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit 
                the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence 
                against American citizens. Before, during, and after 
                the founding of the United States, our cities, States, 
                and country have continuously relied upon capital 
                punishment as the ultimate deterrent and only proper 
                punishment for the vilest crimes. Our Founders knew 
                well that only capital punishment can bring justice and 
                restore order in response to such evil. For this and 
                other reasons, capital punishment continues to enjoy 
                broad popular support.

                Yet for too long, politicians and judges who oppose 
                capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws 
                of our country. At every turn, they seek to thwart the 
                execution of lawfully imposed capital sentences and 
                choose to enforce their personal beliefs rather than 
                the law. When President Biden took office in 2021, he 
                allowed his Department of Justice to issue a moratorium 
                on Federal executions, in defiance of his duty to 
                faithfully execute the laws of the United States that 
                provide for capital punishment. And on December 23, 
                2024, President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of 
                the 40 most vile and sadistic rapists, child molesters, 
                and murderers on Federal death row: remorseless 
                criminals who brutalized young children, strangled and 
                drowned their victims, and hunted strangers for sport. 
                He commuted their sentences even though the laws of our 
                Nation have always protected victims by applying 
                capital punishment to barbaric acts like theirs. Judges 
                who oppose capital punishment have likewise disregarded 
                the law by falsely claiming that capital punishment is 
                unconstitutional, even though the Constitution 
                explicitly acknowledges the legality of capital 
                punishment.

                These efforts to subvert and undermine capital 
                punishment defy the laws of our nation, make a mockery 
                of justice, and insult the victims of these horrible 
                crimes. The Government's most solemn responsibility is 
                to protect its citizens from abhorrent acts, and my 
                Administration will not tolerate efforts to stymie and 
                eviscerate the laws that authorize capital punishment 
                against those who commit horrible acts of violence 
                against American citizens.

                Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States 
                to ensure that the laws that authorize capital 
                punishment are respected and faithfully implemented, 
                and to counteract the politicians and judges who 
                subvert the law by obstructing and preventing the 
                execution of capital sentences.

                Sec. 3. Federal Capital Punishment. (a) The Attorney 
                General shall pursue the death penalty for all crimes 
                of a severity demanding its use.

                    (b) In addition to pursuing the death penalty where 
                possible, the Attorney General shall, where consistent 
                with applicable law, pursue Federal jurisdiction and 
                seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for 
                every federal capital crime involving:

(i) The murder of a law-enforcement officer; or

(ii) A capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this 
country.

                The Attorney General shall encourage State attorneys 
                general and district attorneys to bring State capital 
                charges for all capital crimes with special

[[Page 8464]]

                attention to the crimes described in Subsections (i) 
                and (ii), regardless of whether the federal trial 
                results in a capital sentence.

                    (d) The Attorney General shall take all appropriate 
                action to modify the Justice Manual based on the policy 
                and purpose set forth in this Executive Order.
                    (e) The Attorney General shall evaluate the places 
                of imprisonment and conditions of confinement for each 
                of the 37 murderers whose Federal death sentences were 
                commuted by President Biden, and the Attorney General 
                shall take all lawful and appropriate action to ensure 
                that these offenders are imprisoned in conditions 
                consistent with the monstrosity of their crimes and the 
                threats they pose. The Attorney General shall further 
                evaluate whether these offenders can be charged with 
                State capital crimes and shall recommend appropriate 
                action to state and local authorities.

                Sec. 4. Preserving Capital Punishment in the States. 
                (a) The Attorney General shall take all necessary and 
                lawful action to ensure that each state that allows 
                capital punishment has a sufficient supply of drugs 
                needed to carry out lethal injection.

                    (b) The Attorney General shall take all appropriate 
                action to approve or deny any pending request for 
                certification made by any State under 28 U.S.C. 2265.

                Sec. 5. Seeking The Overruling of Supreme Court 
                Precedents That Hinder Capital Punishment. The Attorney 
                General shall take all appropriate action to seek the 
                overruling of Supreme Court precedents that limit the 
                authority of State and Federal governments to impose 
                capital punishment.

                Sec. 6. Prosecuting Crime to Protect Communities. (a) 
                The Attorney General shall appropriately prioritize 
                public safety and the prosecution of violent crime, and 
                take all appropriate action necessary to dismantle 
                transnational criminal activity in the United States.

                    (b) To ensure the fullest protection of American 
                communities from violence, the Attorney General shall 
                encourage state attorneys general and district 
                attorneys to adopt policies and practices aligned with 
                subsection (a). Federal law enforcement should 
                coordinate with State and local law enforcement where 
                possible to facilitate these objectives.

                Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 8465]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 20, 2025.

[FR Doc. 2025-02012
Filed 1-29-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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