West Virginia Senate candidate Patrick Morrisey supports the death penalty for drug dealers

Republican Senate nominee Patrick Morrisey, following in the footsteps of President Donald Trump, told the Washington Examiner Tuesday he is in full support of the death penalty for drug dealers.

“You can put me down for a resolute yes,” Morrisey said.

Morrisey, who has served as West Virginia’s attorney general since 2012 and is backed by the Senate Conservatives Fund and FreedomWorksPAC in his campaign for Senate, explained why he believes the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for drug dealers.

“You can count me very much all-in to make sure the death penalty applies to the drug traffickers that are knowingly and recklessly killing people in our society,” he said.

As Conservative Review Senior Editor Daniel Horowitz has explained, the increase in drug trafficking in the United States is a direct result of the lack of border security enforcement. Because a large percentage of drug dealers are also illegal immigrants, treating drug dealership with the same seriousness as a petty crime encourages even more undocumented migrants to cross the border.

Morrisey said that when there “is specific intent on the part of an individual to distribute a product that you know is going to cause death,” capital punishment is appropriate. West Virginia has the highest number of opioid-related deaths in the United States.

Editor's note: An incorrect link in the first paragraph has been updated to link to the Washington Examiner's report.

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