To the editor:
President Trump wants to give the death penalty to drug dealers. ("Following Trump's lead, Sessions urges federal prosecutors to seek death penalty against major drug dealers," March 21)
Maybe if he was not so busy losing or firing people in the Justice Department and the FBI, some attorney or law enforcement officer would have told him that a constitutional amendment is needed to do that because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is a violation of the 8th Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment to impose the death penalty for any crime other than murder.
Drug dealing does not qualify.
Robert S. Henry, San Gabriel
Note from KBJ: Maybe President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to reconsider, Robert. Has that occurred to you? Why do you give the president the detriment of the doubt rather than the benefit of the doubt?
