Press Releases

In response to new reporting that the Attorney General Barr has directed the federal government to resume the death penalty after more than two decades, Congresswoman Karen Bass, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement:

“The Congressional Black Caucus is extremely concerned about Attorney General Barr’s decision to allow the Department of Justice to resume capital punishment and the swift scheduling of five executions,” said Chairwoman Bass. “The death penalty is barbaric. Right now, there are only 58 countries that retain the death penalty in active use, compared to 102 countries that have abolished it. The Black community knows all too well that the color of a defendant and victim’s skin plays a crucial and unacceptable role in deciding who receives the death penalty in America. For years, scholars have found that a pervasive racial prejudice in the application of the death penalty exists.  Knowing this, the Department of Justice should suspend the use of the death penalty and provide clear motive for the Administration’s abrupt decision.”