Merlin Thomas

And there's also been questions around the lack of transparency in terms of the lethal injection because there was a new law that was brought in in 2023 which shielded the names of the suppliers and the exact contents of those lethal injections. And so lawyers and other critics have said that Because they don't have that information, they can't properly analyse what's in the lethal injection.

And it should be said that this is a really rare instance. Brad Sigmund will only be the fourth person since the country reintroduced the death penalty in 1976 to be executed by firing squad.

And it should be said that this is a really rare instance. Brad Sigmund will only be the fourth person since the country reintroduced the death penalty in 1976 to be executed by firing squad.

It's very possible. In Idaho, there was recently a bill that was passed that could make death by firing squad the primary method. And also, it's still the secondary method in several other states as well, if, for example, a lethal injection drug can't be obtained.

It's very possible. In Idaho, there was recently a bill that was passed that could make death by firing squad the primary method. And also, it's still the secondary method in several other states as well, if, for example, a lethal injection drug can't be obtained.

And it is worth saying that according to a Gallup poll just last year, 53% of Americans are in favor of the death penalty of a person convicted of murder. And so it's still a majority of Americans who are still in favor of this. Merlin Thomas.

And it is worth saying that according to a Gallup poll just last year, 53% of Americans are in favor of the death penalty of a person convicted of murder. And so it's still a majority of Americans who are still in favor of this. Merlin Thomas.

He had a laundry list of his successes and that's how he really started off, talking about how America is back, that this is the revival of the American dream. But he touched on two main focuses of his speech, which were really immigration and also those culture war issues that we heard about.

He had a laundry list of his successes and that's how he really started off, talking about how America is back, that this is the revival of the American dream. But he touched on two main focuses of his speech, which were really immigration and also those culture war issues that we heard about.

And on those cultural issues, he spent quite a lot of time talking about how he was cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion issues, cracking down on some of those trigger point issues as well. So when he talked about renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, making English the official language of the U.S.,

And on those cultural issues, he spent quite a lot of time talking about how he was cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion issues, cracking down on some of those trigger point issues as well. So when he talked about renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, making English the official language of the U.S.,

As well as then moving on to someone who he has been very keen to emphasize the presence of, Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and unelected advisor, who is leading the mission to reform and reshape the federal government. And he leads DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. And President Trump listed off a number of those things that he claims were savings that DOGE had identified.

As well as then moving on to someone who he has been very keen to emphasize the presence of, Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and unelected advisor, who is leading the mission to reform and reshape the federal government. And he leads DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. And President Trump listed off a number of those things that he claims were savings that DOGE had identified.

And it's worth saying that there were a number of misleading statements in his speech. There aren't very transparent figures on Doge's website about the savings that are made. And BBC Verify have actually contacted the White House about those numbers, but haven't received a response.

And it's worth saying that there were a number of misleading statements in his speech. There aren't very transparent figures on Doge's website about the savings that are made. And BBC Verify have actually contacted the White House about those numbers, but haven't received a response.

And the thing that we've all really been listening out for, the issue of Ukraine, we heard him strike a more conciliatory tone. Wir haben gehört, dass Präsident Zelenskyj, der ukrainische Präsident, ihm ein Brief gesendet hat, dass er bereit war, für Frieden zu signen und bereit war, das Mineraldeal jederzeit zu signen.

And the thing that we've all really been listening out for, the issue of Ukraine, we heard him strike a more conciliatory tone. Wir haben gehört, dass Präsident Zelenskyj, der ukrainische Präsident, ihm ein Brief gesendet hat, dass er bereit war, für Frieden zu signen und bereit war, das Mineraldeal jederzeit zu signen.

Aber wir haben auch gehört, dass er auch zu Russland gesprochen hat, weil er sagte, wir hatten seriöse Diskussionen mit Russland. und haben starke Signale erhalten, dass sie bereit sind für Frieden. Das ist wirklich signifikant. Obwohl die Ukraine wirklich in der letzten Hälfte seines Gesprächs war. Es war eine sehr lange Adresse, die längste in der Geschichte.

Aber wir haben auch gehört, dass er auch zu Russland gesprochen hat, weil er sagte, wir hatten seriöse Diskussionen mit Russland. und haben starke Signale erhalten, dass sie bereit sind für Frieden. Das ist wirklich signifikant. Obwohl die Ukraine wirklich in der letzten Hälfte seines Gesprächs war. Es war eine sehr lange Adresse, die längste in der Geschichte.

Aber trotzdem war es signifikant, dass er es betrug.