Trump Urges Death Penalty For Drug Dealers
US President Donald Trump has called for drug traffickers to face the death penalty as part of his plan to combat the US painkiller-addiction epidemic.
He outlined the proposal during a speech in New Hampshire, a state badly affected by the opioid crisis.
Mr Trump said his administration was attempting to change the law to execute drug dealers, but it will face stiff political and judicial headwinds.
Opioids are a class of drugs including prescription painkillers and heroin.
Some 2.4 million Americans are estimated to be addicted to the drugs. The crisis claimed an estimated 63,600 lives nationwide in 2016, say health officials.
Mr Trump was cheered on Monday as he told a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire: “If we don’t get tough on the drug dealers we’re wasting our time.
“And that toughness includes the death penalty.”
Mr Trump previously suggested the “ultimate” punishment for traffickers at a rally in Pennsylvania this month.
