#Biden stopped the #executions of 37 men. Trump's #DOJ wants to punish them

A year after President Joe Biden spared 37 prisoners on federal #DeathRow from execution by reducing their sentences to life in prison, the #Trump admin is making good on its promise to treat them as harshly as possible anyway.

#law #DeathPenalty #TheCrueltyIsThePoint
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/23/nx-s1-5269702/death-row-executions-transfer-commuted

#Trump & AG #PamBondi have defended their treatment of the prisoners, saying the men deserve it because of their murder convictions. Some family members of people murdered by the prisoners support the transfer of the men to ADX.

But interviews conducted & documents obtained by NPR show the moves the #DOJ has taken to additionally punish the men violate current federal policy, & litigation claims those actions could be #unconstitutional.

#law #DeathPenalty #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

…Robin Maher, the director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that publishes information about executions, believes the government inflicting punishment on the prisoners by sending them to ADX with no security justification is unlawful.

"These are new punishments," said Maher. "This is an additional punishment for these men who have already been sentenced."

#Trump #law #DeathPenalty #HumanRights #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

…Robin Maher, the director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that publishes information about executions, believes the government inflicting punishment on the prisoners by sending them to ADX with no security justification is unlawful.

"These are new punishments," said Maher. "This is an additional punishment for these men who have already been sentenced."

#Trump #law #DeathPenalty #HumanRights #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

Communicating with other people inside the prison is almost impossible & external communication is limited to no more than 1 hour each month.

Dr. Andrea Brockman, a psychologist who worked with ADX prisoners for 3 years, said that the extreme isolation created mental distress for inmates, some of whom harmed themselves by setting themselves on fire, cutting themselves open, pulling out their intestines & attempting suicide.

#Trump #law #DeathPenalty #HumanRights #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

That's because the conditions at ADX are some of the most restrictive in the federal system. Unlike in other prisons, where #SolitaryConfinement is often reserved as a punishment for bad behavior & there are opportunities for prisoners to spend time in groups, in ADX, the prisoners are always confined alone & are required to stay inside cells no larger than a parking spot 22 to 24 hours a day.

#Trump #law #DeathPenalty #HumanRights #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

That's because the conditions at ADX are some of the most restrictive in the federal system. Unlike in other prisons, where #SolitaryConfinement is often reserved as a punishment for bad behavior & there are opportunities for prisoners to spend time in groups, in ADX, the prisoners are always confined alone & are required to stay inside cells no larger than a parking spot 22 to 24 hours a day.

#Trump #law #DeathPenalty #HumanRights #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

Ofcls do that by considering specific criteria, including the prisoners' location, security, programmatic needs, mental & physical health requirements & faith-based necessities.

…”ADX Florence general population units are designed for male inmates who have demonstrated an inability to function in a less restrictive environment without being a threat to others, or to the secure & orderly operation of the institution," per a 2006 #DOJ & #BOP program statement….

#Trump #law #DeathPenalty

"It's gravely damaging the way that people are being treated," said Brian Stull, a lawyer for the ACLU, who is representing 21 of the 37 prisoners in lawsuits filed against #Trump & the federal govt. "They're almost like pawns caught in the crossfire."

To send prisoners to ADX, federal rules were disregarded.

…By #law & according to current federal rules, the govt is required to make objective decisions about where prisoners should be transferred.

#law #DeathPenalty #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

#Trump & AG #PamBondi have defended their treatment of the prisoners, saying the men deserve it because of their murder convictions. Some family members of people murdered by the prisoners support the transfer of the men to ADX.

But interviews conducted & documents obtained by NPR show the moves the #DOJ has taken to additionally punish the men violate current federal policy, & litigation claims those actions could be #unconstitutional.

#law #DeathPenalty #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

2 others face #DeathPenalty charges in Florida. And the rest are stuck in limbo, having been told to expect a move to the Colorado prison, named ADX Florence, at any moment. That limbo has driven one of the prisoners to try to kill himself, he told NPR [though the full article mentions several prisoners who are planning to die by suicide].

#law #Trump #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

10 of the prisoners were transferred to one of the most restrictive maximum-security prisons in the US, an infamous facility in Colorado nicknamed "the Alcatraz of the Rockies" where every prisoner is kept in #SolitaryConfinement. 2 were taken to states where prosecutors have pledged to seek the #DeathPenalty against them again, in state court.

#law #Trump #TheCrueltyIsThePoint

#Biden stopped the #executions of 37 men. Trump's #DOJ wants to punish them

A year after President Joe Biden spared 37 prisoners on federal #DeathRow from execution by reducing their sentences to life in prison, the #Trump admin is making good on its promise to treat them as harshly as possible anyway.

#law #DeathPenalty #TheCrueltyIsThePoint
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/23/nx-s1-5269702/death-row-executions-transfer-commuted

Despite Declining Support for the #DeathPenalty, #Executions Nearly Doubled in 2025, Report Says https://theintercept.com/2025/12/15/death-penalty-executions-2025/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter

Despite Declining Support for the #DeathPenalty, #Executions Nearly Doubled in 2025, Report Says https://theintercept.com/2025/12/15/death-penalty-executions-2025/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter