President Donald Trump seems to be making progress on his promise to “vigorously pursue” the death penalty after former President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men on federal death row in December.
NBC News reported on Sunday that several district attorneys are considering, or have considered, state charges against some of the men after Trump issued an executive order earlier this year asking them to evaluate the situation of the men and pursue the death penalty in general. Charges against at least one have been successful so far, according to the report.
The successful murder indictment was brought by prosecutor Brad Burget in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, against Thomas Steven Sanders, according to KALB. Sanders was first sentence to death in the 2010 killing of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts. If a jury in the state finds him guilty this time, he could return to death row, but at the state level.
The 7th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Louisiana did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment.
NBC News found that a prosecutor in Horry County, South Carolina, is considering charges against Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks for the killing of a 44-year-old woman in 2002. Likewise, he is evaluating charges against Brandon Council, who was convicted in 2019 of killing two bank employees.
The 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson told NBC News that they are considering the charges, “but no decisions have been made.” Richardson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office in Missouri said it had evaluated the case of Billie Allen and Norris Holder; they were convicted of robbery by force or violence resulting in death in April 1998.
However, a public information officer for the attorney’s office told HuffPost the determination was that it was not in “the public interest to pursue state prosecution in this matter.”
“They are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole and therefore pursuing additional charges at the state level would not enhance public safety in the St. Louis region,” the PIO told HuffPost.
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in Texas told NBC News it had looked into the case of Julius Robinson, who had been on death row, but opted not to move forward. Robinson was convicted of killing three people.
“We have discussed the facts and circumstances of Julius Robinson’s case with both former and current federal prosecutors familiar with the case. This case is not viable for a capital murder prosecution in Tarrant County,” prosecutors told NBC News in a statement. Prosecutors in Tarrant County did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
(Biden commuted the sentences of six other people in Texas on federal death row.)
According to the NBC report, 15 of the people formerly on federal death row were convicted of committing crimes in states that have abolished capital punishment or states that have formally or informally paused it.
Eleven of the individuals whose sentences were commuted were convicted of crimes on federal land. Prosecutors may be able to charge them on the state level if the state has jurisdiction, Florida defense attorney Barry Wax told NBC News..
The NBC News report comes after an executive order from Trump in January titled “Restoring the death penalty and protecting public safety.” It demands that the attorney general seek the federal death penalty “for all crimes of a severity demanding its use” and “evaluate the places of imprisonment and conditions of confinement for each of the 37 murderers whose Federal death sentences were commuted by President Biden.”
The order also specifically called out Biden for acting “in defiance of his duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States that provide for capital punishment.”
Biden, who is known to be the first president outwardly against the use of the death penalty, commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 people on federal death row; the exceptions were Robert Bowers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Dylann Roof. Each of them was convicted of charges related to terrorism or mass murder.
“I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” Biden said in a statement at the time. “Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss.”
“But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” he added.
In an unprecedented move, Biden also granted clemency to 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes before leaving office. Still, Biden failed to fulfill his presidential campaign promise to terminate the federal use of the death penalty.
By contrast, Trump is staunchly pro-death penalty. He has called for use of the punishment method for his political opponents, drug dealers and people who are undocumented.
During his first term, he oversaw the executions of 13 people, ending a de facto moratorium that had lasted 17 years.
After Biden announced that he commuted the death sentences in December, Trump condemned the move.
“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on Truth Social. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!”