Biden contemplates commuting death row inmates' sentences – WaPo
If US President Biden takes action, federal death sentences might be substituted with life imprisonment. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
US President Joe Biden is considering commuting the sentences of 40 federal death row inmates before his presidency concludes, as reported by the Washington Post, citing informed sources.
If Biden proceeds with this action, their sentences will be converted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the article published on Friday.
This move “would frustrate President-elect Donald Trump’s ability to resume the rapid pace of executions that marked his first term,” WaPo emphasized.
During Trump's first term, there were 13 federal executions, while none have occurred under Biden. Ending the federal death penalty was one of the promises Biden made during his campaign.
Trump has expressed intentions to reinstate executions in his White House bid, stating, “I am hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer,” at a rally in October.
Sources indicated that Biden's decision to replace death sentences with life imprisonment could be announced before Christmas.
The pressing issue remains whether the president should apply a blanket commutation or draw distinctions for inmates convicted of particularly severe crimes.
According to people familiar with the discussions, Attorney General Merrick Garland, responsible for federal prisons, has advised Biden to maintain capital punishment for a select few inmates convicted of terrorism and hate crimes.
Possible exceptions may include Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, held accountable for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that left three dead and over 250 injured; Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 individuals at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018; and Dylann Roof, who killed nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, the report noted.
Republican leaders are reportedly “appalled” by the potential commutation of death sentences, the Washington Post highlighted.
The article quoted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who stated earlier this week that “it would mean that progressive politics is more important to the president than the lives taken by these murderers.”
He added, “It would mean that society’s most forceful condemnation of white supremacy and antisemitism must give way to legal mumbo jumbo.”
Biden's proposed commutation would only impact the 40 inmates on federal death row, as he lacks authority over the nearly 2,200 individuals sentenced to capital punishment in the US by state courts.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
If Biden proceeds with this action, their sentences will be converted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the article published on Friday.
This move “would frustrate President-elect Donald Trump’s ability to resume the rapid pace of executions that marked his first term,” WaPo emphasized.
During Trump's first term, there were 13 federal executions, while none have occurred under Biden. Ending the federal death penalty was one of the promises Biden made during his campaign.
Trump has expressed intentions to reinstate executions in his White House bid, stating, “I am hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer,” at a rally in October.
Sources indicated that Biden's decision to replace death sentences with life imprisonment could be announced before Christmas.
The pressing issue remains whether the president should apply a blanket commutation or draw distinctions for inmates convicted of particularly severe crimes.
According to people familiar with the discussions, Attorney General Merrick Garland, responsible for federal prisons, has advised Biden to maintain capital punishment for a select few inmates convicted of terrorism and hate crimes.
Possible exceptions may include Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, held accountable for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that left three dead and over 250 injured; Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 individuals at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018; and Dylann Roof, who killed nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, the report noted.
Republican leaders are reportedly “appalled” by the potential commutation of death sentences, the Washington Post highlighted.
The article quoted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who stated earlier this week that “it would mean that progressive politics is more important to the president than the lives taken by these murderers.”
He added, “It would mean that society’s most forceful condemnation of white supremacy and antisemitism must give way to legal mumbo jumbo.”
Biden's proposed commutation would only impact the 40 inmates on federal death row, as he lacks authority over the nearly 2,200 individuals sentenced to capital punishment in the US by state courts.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
