President-elect Donald Trump says that he will direct the Justice Department to "vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters."
He posted the promise on his Truth Social account in response to a headline about President Joe Biden commuting the death sentences of "child killers and mass murderers."
Trump stated, "We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!"
Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to reclassify them from "execution to life without the possibility of parole," according to the White House.
The move was sent to highlight Biden's stance against death row and his advocacy for criminal justice reform.
"He believes that America must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level, except in cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder – which is why today's actions apply to all but those cases," said the White House.
Among the sentences commuted was one that involved a Las Vegas man who was set to be put to death for the kidnapping and killing of a 12-year-old girl and her mother in 2010.
Another involved a drug dealer in Philadelphia who was guilty of committing or directing 12 murders including four children.
During the first year of his presidency, Biden's administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions.
