Rep. Ayanna Pressley. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A day after the Department of Justice announced they would resume federal executions for the first time since 2003, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley is set to file a bill that would abolish the death penalty altogether.
The bill would prohibit anyone from being sentenced to death or put to death by the government for any violation of federal law and "for other purposes."
Several states currently have a moratorium on the death penalty, or have suspended the practice, due to recent past wrongful convictions brought to light by groups such as The Innocence Project.
In a statement, Pressley said the death penalty has "no place in a just society."
She went on to call the policy racist and vile, saying the point is "cruelty."
The DOJ announced that executions will resume in December, starting with five convicted murderers currently on death row.
The move has sparked debate on Capitol Hill, with many saying they didn't expect it.
Some Republicans, including Rep. Scott Perry of the House Freedom Caucus, say they're for it.
Several Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris, disagree.
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