By Rhonda Robinson Taylor
October 21, 2029
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez signed the Death Penalty Abolition Act this morning, two days after Congress passed the bill by wide margins.
“Today, the United States joins the majority of its peer countries around the world in recognizing that the government’s authority does not include the ability to take a human life as punishment for a crime,” said Ocasio-Cortez in the Oval Office. “My administration is doing everything it can to lower crime and increase safety. State-sponsored executions are not an effective policy for accomplishing those goals, and they severely undercut our own moral authority as a nation.”
The law formally categorizes capital punishment as cruel and unusual, rendering it unconstitutional at all levels of government. Practically, the legislation will have little effect because the vast majority of executions in recent years have occurred in those states that are now part of the New Confederacy.
While the Death Penalty Abolition Act first debuted in February, Congress did not take action until three weeks ago, after Florida’s first video-streamed lethal injection went awry and caused shock and disgust among the U.S. public. Lawmakers reported receiving a wave of constituent phone calls advocating for abolition of the death penalty, and governors in states where it remains legal also urged Congress to act.
“We can’t change criminal justice policy in other countries. But we can absolutely stand up for human rights at home and say, ‘This isn’t who we are,’” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who sponsored the repeal law.
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