Donald Trump and his partisan sidekick William Barr have found a new secret ingredient to deflect attention from the coronavirus, economic depression and racist policing. After a 17-year hiatus on federal executions. Five men have been executed this summer; two more have been scheduled for September. Violent crime has declined precipitously in the last 30 years. So has support for and use of the death penalty.
So why has the Trump-Barr team decided now is the time to resume federal executions?
The answer is simple: this is the Law and Order President. He is running on American carnage. The symbolism of the death penalty is powerful, even if it has no discernible impact on crime rates. Capital punishment expresses the primacy of tribal values defining who is inside and outside the relevant moral community. The community that “dominates” the streets also can show that it has the power of life and death over those who transgress its values; who are vilified as anarchists, thugs and then criminals.
Article submitted by, Rawr.
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