Prez Biden commutes to LWOP the federal death sentences of 37 murderers
As reported in this AP piece, “President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office.” Here is more:
The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities.
It means just three federal inmates are still facing execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history.
The White House has these releases detailing this notable clemency action: “FACT SHEET: President Biden Commutes the Sentences of 37 Individuals on Death Row” and “Statement from President Joe Biden on Federal Death Row Commutations.” The “Fact Sheet” in part discusses Prez Biden’s clemency record and concludes with this notable sentence: “In the coming weeks, the President will take additional steps to provide meaningful second chances and continue to review additional pardons and commutations.” On the capital clemencies, the statement from Prez Biden is relatively short, and here it is in full:
I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system.
Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole. These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.
Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss.
But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.
I mused a bit in this post over the weekend about a few legal issues that could follow these commutations, and one involved whether Prez Biden might include pending capital cases in any blanket clemency effort. It appears he did not here (though he still has four weeks with the clemency pen).
Prior recent related post: