Today Justice drags its feet on executions—convicted inmates sit for years, even decades, when it should be hours or days. Why let a death sentence inmate rot on the vine when life without parole just clogs the system? Here’s a better way: mandate execution over any life sentence, unless there are extenuating circumstances and make all remaining life sentences without parole—no half-measures. Propose a federal law: executions happen within 72 hours ideally, never past 90 days. A three-judge panel shall review each capital case for legal errors, judicial or prosecutorial misconduct, and gets a prosecution statement swearing no exculpatory evidence was withheld. Clean, fast, done.
This law would cement capital punishment as lawful across the nation and U.S. territories—not cruel or unusual punishment, but a constitutional duty. The Eighth Amendment’s been warped to delay justice; it shouldn’t. Execution beats life sentences every time—swifter, cheaper, final. Life without parole? Make it the floor for non-capital cases, no exceptions. Victims’ families deserve closure, not endless appeals. Look at the mess now: states like California have 600+ on death row, zero executions since 2006. Absurd.
Set federal execution methods—lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, guillotine beheading, hypoxic gas chamber pick what works—and mandate all federal prisons build and maintain execution chambers. No excuses. States without facilities? After judicial review, they transfer prisoners to federal prisons for the job. Give state max-security prisons ten years to build their own execution setups—plenty of time to get serious. Taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for perpetual delays or cushy life sentences. Nor have to maintain maximum security nursing homes! Justice demands action, not stagnation.