US President Joe Biden has made a significant move by commuting the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates, converting their penalties to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Notably, three individuals were excluded from this commutation, including the Boston Marathon bomber and a man responsible for the 2018 massacre of Jewish worshippers. In his statement, Biden expressed his strong belief that the federal death penalty should be abolished entirely. This decision does not extend to over 2,000 individuals facing death sentences under state jurisdiction.
Biden’s action is particularly poignant as it precedes the anticipated return of former President Donald Trump in January, who previously reinstated federal executions during his administration.
Among those whose sentences were commuted are nine convicted of murdering fellow inmates, along with four individuals involved in bank robbery-related killings and one who murdered a prison guard. Biden has emphasized the gravity of their crimes while expressing compassion for the victims and their families.
Included in the list of individuals receiving clemency is Len Davis, a former police officer entangled in a drug ring and implicated in a murder scheme.
The three inmates remaining on death row include Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the perpetrators of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Dylann Roof, the shooter who killed nine Black churchgoers in 2015, and Robert Bowers, who was responsible for the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Biden, who has long campaigned against the death penalty, has witnessed the Justice Department enforce a moratorium on federal executions since he took office. In stark contrast, during Trump’s tenure, 13 federal executions were carried out in the last six months of his presidency.
Prior to Trump’s administration, no federal inmates had been executed since 2003. Trump indicated during his re-election campaign a desire to broaden the scope of capital punishment to encompass human traffickers, drug traffickers, and migrants who harm American citizens. In a clear reference to these inclinations, Biden remarked that he could not “in good conscience” allow a new administration to resume the executions he halted.
Legally, these clemency decisions are irreversible by succeeding presidents. Biden’s actions do not affect those sentenced to death in state courts, where approximately 2,250 inmates remain. Over 70 executions at the state level have occurred during Biden’s presidency.
Currently, 23 of the 50 U.S. states have abolished the death penalty, while six states, including Arizona and California, maintain moratoriums.
Earlier this month, Biden also commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals and pardoned an additional 39 convicted of nonviolent offenses. Notably, he granted a pardon to his son, Hunter Biden, who faced legal repercussions for tax evasion and possession of a firearm while being a drug user, making history as the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime.
The U.S. Constitution grants the president the authority to issue reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, excluding cases of impeachment.
