Why the government won't be executing anyone — including Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — anytime soon

(Image credit: Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images)

published 24 June 2015

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was officially sentenced to death on charges of his involvement in the Boston Marathon bombing, but it is unlikely he will be executed for a long time to come. Due to a review of the federal death penalty, the Justice Department has put a moratorium on executions. And, even if executions were allowed, there are no lethal injection drugs around anyway due to shortages, a lack of manufacturers, and complications with drug combinations.

It is rare for someone to receive a federal death sentence, too. Since it was reinstated in 1988, only three inmates have been put to death. A federal execution hasn't taken place since 2003; even at the state level, the average inmate executed in 2013 had been on death row for more than 15 years.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.