President Biden took a bold step toward halting federal executions – commuting the sentences of 37 men on death row but leaving three others intact. Here’s what to know.
President Joe Biden announced Monday he was commuting the sentences of 37 men on federal death row, leaving only three awaiting the death penalty when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
The White House said in a statement that the sentences will be reclassified from execution to life without the possibility of parole.
“President Biden has dedicated his career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system. He believes that America must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level, except in cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder – which is why today’s actions apply to all but those cases,” the statement said.
The move effectively undercuts Trump’s promise to restart federal executions when he returns to the White House, building on the 13 federal executions that took place during his first term. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden said he would end the death penalty, but ultimately the legislation never gained traction in a closely divided Congress. Instead, the Biden administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions.
Here’s what to know about the commuted sentences:
Whose Sentences Were Commuted?
Of the 40 men on federal death row – all of whom were convicted of murder – Biden commuted the sentences of 37. Unlike a pardon, which essentially forgives someone of a crime and relieves them of related consequences, a commutation only changes or shortens a sentence for a crime. Instead of facing execution, the individuals will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Of the men on death row, 18 are white, 15 are Black, six are Latino and one is Asian, according to the Federal Capital Habeas Project. They were sentenced in 16 states. Biden said he commuted the sentences of the individuals on death row who committed crimes other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.
Who Remains on Death Row?
Three men still face federal execution, they include Robert Bowers, Dylann Roof, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Bowers was convicted on 63 charges for storming a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 and killing 11 worshippers, resulting in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.
Roof, a white supremacist, was convicted in 2017 for murdering nine Black parishioners of a South Carolina church two years earlier as they were attending a Bible study. He became the first person in the U.S. sentenced to death for a federal hate crime.
Tsarnaev was convicted for a terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon that left three people dead and dozens more injured. His charges included using a weapon of mass destruction – a pressure cooker bomb.
Why Did Biden Commute Sentences?
Biden said the decision to commute sentences was an effort to ensure a “fair and effective justice system and to prevent the next administration from resuming executions.
“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,” he said in a statement. “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.”
The announcement followed pleas from civic groups calling on the president to commute death row sentences. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Biden on behalf of 134 human rights, faith-based and social justice organizations asking him to do more than just the moratorium.
“In the face of a second Trump administration, more is necessary,” the letter said. “Indeed, the nation bore witness to thirteen executions in the final seven months of the first Trump administration, all of which were marred with devastating issues endemic to capital punishment like racial bias, ineffective legal assistance, unreliable forensic evidence, and defendants executed who had substantial intellectual disabilities and severe mental health conditions.”
Biden set a modern-day record earlier this month by commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 and pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes. That followed Biden pardoning his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted on three federal gun charges for lying on a firearms application and pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion charges earlier this year. Some of the moves – including but not limited to Biden’s pardon of his son – have drawn scorn.
The president is expected to review additional pardons and commutations in the coming weeks, according to the White House.
