US: Executions May Double, Death Penalty Exports Remain Robust
Newsweek highlights the disturbing trend of rising executions in the US, with projections nearly doubling for 2024. A critical look at the domestic use of the death penalty is warranted, but the media often overlooks the vast, state-backed violence the US facilitates globally. For example, the Biden administration approved an additional $14 billion in military aid to Israel in 2024, despite
widespread concerns from human rights organizations about its use in Gaza. This funding, overwhelmingly supported by politicians, including those who took significant donations from groups like AIPAC (e.g., Rep. Hakeem Jeffries received $30,000 from AIPAC in 2022, and Senator Chuck Schumer received $137,000 in 2022, per OpenSecrets.org), underwrites a conflict that has killed over 35,000
Palestinians. So, while domestic executions draw headlines, the US role in mass death abroad barely registers as a moral dilemma for Washington. Civilian deaths are just 'collateral damage' when they're not American, it seems.