Presidential Documents

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


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8464 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 19 / Thursday, January 30, 2025 / Presidential Documents 

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. 


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(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. 

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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