US government reinstates “death penalty” for the first time in 15 years

The US government has decided to resume the death penalty at the federal level, saying it will carry out executions of five prisoners for the first time in 15 years.

US Attorney General Bill Barr has ordered the Federal Prison Service to adopt a proposed addition to the Federal Implementation Protocol that paves the way for executions.

Barr said in a statement on Thursday that Congress has explicitly sanctioned the death sentence through legislation adopted by the people’s representatives on both houses of Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.

The execution of the five prisoners is scheduled to begin in December.

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