Biden Plans to Commute Sentences for Nearly All Men on Federal Death Row
The president is set to prevent Donald Trump from swiftly reinstating executions.
TroibNews 
President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly all prisoners on federal death row, a significant move aimed at obstructing President-elect Donald Trump’s potential quick resumption of executions.
Specifically, Biden will commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 death-row inmates, marking his second large-scale clemency action following the pardon he granted to his son, Hunter Biden.
The president's decision to commute these sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole aligns with his administration’s ongoing moratorium on federal 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,” Biden stated on Monday. “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.”
Biden noted that his decision was also influenced by Trump’s strong backing of capital punishment, stating he could not permit the incoming administration to resume executions for those he had spared during his presidency.
During Trump’s first term, 13 federal inmates were executed. The former president even took some cases to the Supreme Court to overturn final legal appeals.
Biden’s commutations exclude three inmates whom the president described as being convicted of terrorism or “hate-motivated mass murder”—namely, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Robert Bowers, and Dylann Roof. Tsarnaev was convicted for the Boston Marathon bombing, while Bowers was responsible for the deaths of 11 individuals at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, and Roof killed nine worshippers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
This clemency action does not affect those sentenced to death in state courts, which significantly outnumber federal cases. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there are 2,241 individuals on death row across state and federal jurisdictions in the U.S., many of whom could face the prospect of being resentenced in new trials.
Biden’s decision came after a recommendation from the Justice Department to grant the commutations and in response to mounting pressure from various groups advocating for clemency in his final days in office. While the administration has largely not acted on Biden's 2020 campaign promise to abolish the death penalty, it has halted all executions and is nearing the publication of a review of capital punishment.
The president’s earlier pardon of Hunter Biden provoked bipartisan backlash, leading him to commute the sentences of almost 1,500 individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses and issue 39 pardons.
This previous large-scale clemency action was also met with controversy, especially when Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro criticized the inclusion of a notorious former Pennsylvania judge as “absolutely wrong.”
Biden's latest move is likely to draw immediate criticism for sparing nearly everyone on death row from execution. Several Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, have already denounced the commutations for showing leniency toward some of the country’s most infamous criminals. To preempt some of this criticism, the White House released a detailed collection of endorsements from clemency advocates and other organizations applauding Biden’s decision.
Additionally, the White House indicated that more clemency actions might be forthcoming, stating that Biden is considering additional pardons and commutations, aimed at “additional steps to provide meaningful second chances” in the weeks leading up to the end of his term.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
Specifically, Biden will commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 death-row inmates, marking his second large-scale clemency action following the pardon he granted to his son, Hunter Biden.
The president's decision to commute these sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole aligns with his administration’s ongoing moratorium on federal 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,” Biden stated on Monday. “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.”
Biden noted that his decision was also influenced by Trump’s strong backing of capital punishment, stating he could not permit the incoming administration to resume executions for those he had spared during his presidency.
During Trump’s first term, 13 federal inmates were executed. The former president even took some cases to the Supreme Court to overturn final legal appeals.
Biden’s commutations exclude three inmates whom the president described as being convicted of terrorism or “hate-motivated mass murder”—namely, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Robert Bowers, and Dylann Roof. Tsarnaev was convicted for the Boston Marathon bombing, while Bowers was responsible for the deaths of 11 individuals at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, and Roof killed nine worshippers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
This clemency action does not affect those sentenced to death in state courts, which significantly outnumber federal cases. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there are 2,241 individuals on death row across state and federal jurisdictions in the U.S., many of whom could face the prospect of being resentenced in new trials.
Biden’s decision came after a recommendation from the Justice Department to grant the commutations and in response to mounting pressure from various groups advocating for clemency in his final days in office. While the administration has largely not acted on Biden's 2020 campaign promise to abolish the death penalty, it has halted all executions and is nearing the publication of a review of capital punishment.
The president’s earlier pardon of Hunter Biden provoked bipartisan backlash, leading him to commute the sentences of almost 1,500 individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses and issue 39 pardons.
This previous large-scale clemency action was also met with controversy, especially when Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro criticized the inclusion of a notorious former Pennsylvania judge as “absolutely wrong.”
Biden's latest move is likely to draw immediate criticism for sparing nearly everyone on death row from execution. Several Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, have already denounced the commutations for showing leniency toward some of the country’s most infamous criminals. To preempt some of this criticism, the White House released a detailed collection of endorsements from clemency advocates and other organizations applauding Biden’s decision.
Additionally, the White House indicated that more clemency actions might be forthcoming, stating that Biden is considering additional pardons and commutations, aimed at “additional steps to provide meaningful second chances” in the weeks leading up to the end of his term.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
