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US Senators urge Department of Justice to rescind Trump-era opinion on lethal injection drugs

A group of senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, have called on the Department of Justice to rescind a Trump-era opinion on execution drugs, The Hill reports.

The Hill references findings from a recent report from the anti-death penalty group Reprieve that Black inmates who are sentenced to death suffered botched procedures at higher rates versus white prisoners, with Black people having at 220 percent higher chance of suffering a botched lethal injection in comparison to white people.

“It is well-established that the death penalty is infected with racial bias at every stage of the process,” the report states. “This report reveals that the racial disparities in capital punishment extend all the way into the execution chamber.”