Biden Commutes 37 Federal Death Sentences
Clemency decisions cannot be reversed by incoming administration
This morning, U.S. President Joe Biden commuted the sentences for 37 out of 40 federal inmates on death row, converting them to life in prison without parole, before he hands power to the incoming administration on January 20th, 2025. Unlike executive orders, clemency decisions cannot be reversed by a president's successor. During his first term, the incoming administration restarted federal executions from 2017 to 2021 after a nearly 20-year pause.
"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 ... I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level," he said. "In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted," Biden said in a statement.
Today's decision does not apply to cases of terrorism or hate-motivated mass murder, leaving three men on federal death row; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted for his involvement in the bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line in 2013; Dylann Roof, convicted for the shooting spree at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015; and, Robert Bowers, who was convicted for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.
Civil rights leaders, victim family member, corrections officers, faith leaders, innocence groups, and business leaders from across the country released statements in support of Biden's commutation.
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“This is a historic day. By commuting these sentences, President Biden has done what no President before him was willing to do: take meaningful and lasting action not just to acknowledge the death penalty’s racist roots but also to remedy its persistent unfairness.” - Martin Luther King III
“Today marks an important turning point in ending America's tragic and error-prone use of the death penalty. By commuting almost all federal death sentences, President Biden has sent a strong message to Americans that the death penalty is not the answer to our country's concerns about public safety. I commend President Biden for recognizing that we don't have to kill people to show that killing is wrong, that we can and should reduce violence in our communities by refusing to sanction more violence and killing in our courts and prisons." - Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative
“I am so grateful to President Biden for taking this step to ensure no federal correctional professionals will face the harm of participating in executions for the foreseeable future. It’s difficult to overstate just how much the execution process impacts everyone involved." - Gary Mohr, former Director of the Ohio Department of Corrections
“President Biden has made a historic decision to put common sense over retribution and vengeance. Commuting these federal death sentences sends an important signal that there are alternatives to state-sanctioned killing. By championing forgiveness and mercy, President Biden has come down on the right side of history." - Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group
“I applaud President Biden for using his constitutional power in this important way. Our system of justice will be better for it." - Hon. Timothy Lewis, former judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
"I'm grateful to President Biden for making a decision that is consistent with what I and so many of my colleagues in law enforcement know to be true: the death penalty drains resources away from the kinds of programs that actually help us prevent crime, perpetuates systemic injustices in our justice system, and precludes the rectification of mistakes in cases of wrongful conviction. My heart is with those who have lost loved ones to violence, and I hope this decision leads to some measure of peace for everyone involved." - Brendan Cox, Interim Chief of Police, Albany (New York) Police Department
“President Biden has answered the prayers of hundreds of Black faith leaders who urged him to make this courageous decision. This decision also ensures that the door to redemption remains open for the men who will now serve life sentences instead of facing execution." Joia Thornton of Georgia, Executive Director of the Faith Leaders of Color Coalition
Olga and Eulogio Castro, who lost their brother, Victor, in a federally charged murder, had asked President Biden to commute the death sentences of the perpetrators. They underscored that an execution would “not make us feel better,” but “would cause us more pain.” In their words, “only God gives life and only God should take away life.”
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Felony Murder Elimination Project joins the chorus of those around the country in praising President Biden's federal death row commutations. We stand alongside the many who seek the end of the death penalty, a cruel punishment long applied disproportionately against racially, religiously, ethnically, and politically disfavored groups. Additionally, official misconduct is rampant in death penalty cases and a leading cause of wrongful convictions. The Death Penalty Initiative has identified more than 600 instances in which a capital conviction or death sentence has been overturned or a death-row exoneree was wrongfully convicted as a result of prosecutorial misconduct.
Thank you President Biden for heeding the prayers and calls for justice from thousands of Californians of diverse faiths and communities, united in our shared beliefs that the death penalty is an affront to human dignity and that community safety and the needs of victims will never be advanced through further acts of violence.
