Pence vows to expedite death penalty for mass shooters

Former Vice President Mike Pence wants to crack down on mass shootings with a new law for an expedited death penalty for those who pull the trigger.

“As the grandfather of three beautiful little girls, I am sick and tired of these mass shootings happening in the United States of America,” Mr. Pence said at Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley, California. “If I’m president of the United States, I’m going to go to the Congress of the United States, and we’re going to pass a federal expedited death penalty for anyone involved in a mass shooting so that they will meet their fate in months, not years.”

The White House hopeful called it “unconscionable” that the convicted killer responsible for the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting that left 17 people dead received life in prison without the possibility of parole rather than the death penalty.

Florida law requires the jury to reach an unanimous decision for a death sentence, which they failed to do. In response, Florida lawmakers passed a bill this year that ended the unanimous jury requirement. It was signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also a GOP presidential candidate.

“That’s not justice,” Mr. Pence said of the shooter’s life sentence. “We have to mete out justice and send a message to these would-be killers that we are not going to live out your days behind bars.”