President Joe Biden Commutes Death Sentences of 37 Federal Inmates
President Joe Biden took a sweeping action on Monday, commuting the death sentences of 37 federal inmates and converting them to life in prison without parole. This decision leaves only three inmates, convicted of terrorism or hate-fueled mass murder, unaffected.
The move comes amid concerns that President-elect Donald Trump, who restarted federal executions after a nearly 20-year hiatus, would push for the executions to be carried out. Biden’s decision is seen as a response to these concerns and a move to end the use of the death penalty at the federal level.
In a statement, Biden condemned the murders, grieved for the victims, and expressed his deep sympathy for the families affected. However, he also emphasized his conviction that the death penalty is not the right approach. “I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” he said.
The three inmates whose death sentences were not commuted are Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who orchestrated the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing; Dylann Roof, convicted of killing nine Black congregants in a Charleston church in 2015; and Robert Bowers, responsible for the deadly synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018.
This decision is part of a larger effort by Biden to reform the criminal justice system. In recent weeks, he has enacted the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history, commuting the sentences of 1,500 individuals and granting 39 presidential pardons. The move has been met with both praise and criticism, with some arguing that it is a step towards reforming the system, while others see it as an abuse of power.
