By Matt Kaiser, an attorney at The Kaiser Law Firm PLLC. Mr. Kaiser blogs at Federal Criminal Appeals Blog.
Barack Obama’s views on the death penalty as a presidential candidate were not unlike his views on other subjects. Then candidate-Obama thought that the death penalty should be reserved for cases of horrific crime – but only when procedural protections are in place and it can be carried out humanely. He wasn’t going to take a hard line against the death penalty, but still thought it should be reformed.
Since he’s been in office, for the most part, that’s what his Department of Justice has done. There appears to be a decline in the Department of Justice seeking the death penalty aga
inst people who are involved in the drug trade and kill other drug dealers. It’s sad to say that these kinds of crimes are common enough that they generally don’t count as particularly heinous. The Department’s actions reflect the president’s views, in this instance.
Moreover, the pace of federal executions has slowed during Obama’s presidency, though this is not the result of presidential action. The federal government’s execution protocol uses a particular drug – sodium thiopental – and that drug is in short supply. The Department of Justice has to modify its protocol before it can go forward with any executions using a different drug; modifying a DOJ protocol takes time. As a result, it’s likely that President Obama will not see a federal execution during his first term in office.
All of this makes for a high-stakes, but odd, fight between the Department of Justice and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee.
Jason Pleau has been accused of shooting a gas station manager outside of a bank during a robbery in Rhode Island. Admittedly, Pleau appears to have a violent past. He has agreed to plead guilty in state court, and would receive a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
The sentence, though, may not be good enough for President Obama’s Department of Justice. Because the federal government can prosecute Pleau – the bank where the shooting happened is federally insured – the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island has charged Pleau with a death-eligible offense. Though the federal government hasn’t decided whether to seek Pleau’s death, it is absolutely a possibility.