US President Donald Trump on Monday made a controversial call for drug traffickers to face the death penalty, as part of his plan to combat America’s opioid epidemic — a move that appears to be as much about politics as policy.
The Republican leader launched the proposal during a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire — a state hard hit by the opioid crisis — and the move was designed to burnish his tough-on-crime credentials.
“These are terrible people, and we have to get tough on those people,” he told the crowd. “If we don’t get tough on the drug dealers, we’re wasting our time.
“That toughness includes the death penalty,” he added.
An estimated 2.4 million Americans are addicted to opioids, a class of drugs including prescription painkillers, as well as heroin.
Trump pledged to fix the crisis when he took office a year ago, but so far, he has struggled to make…
Read More…..Punch Newspapers
