Mon 23rd Dec, 2024
President Joe Biden has commuted the death sentences of 37 out of 40 inmates currently on federal death row in the United States. This decision comes as part of his commitment to halt executions at the federal level, a stance he took during his administration.
Biden expressed his determination not to allow the incoming administration to resume executions, particularly with Donald Trump set to take office on January 20. He stated that his actions align with the moratorium on federal executions established by his administration.
In his announcement, Biden emphasized his condemnation of the heinous acts committed by these individuals while highlighting his own moral convictions, shaped by his past as a public defender and his experience in politics. He firmly believes in the necessity of abolishing the death penalty at the federal level.
The commutations are consistent with the standards of the moratorium, which applies to cases not involving terrorism or hate-motivated mass murder. However, the inmates whose sentences have been converted to life imprisonment will not be eligible for parole.
Three inmates will remain under death sentences. These individuals are convicted of multiple murders and acts of terrorism. One was responsible for a 2015 attack on a church in Charleston, which resulted in the deaths of nine African Americans. Another was involved in the 2018 attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh, leading to the deaths of eleven Jewish individuals. The third is one of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, which killed three and injured 264 others.
The moratorium on federal executions, initially announced during Biden’s 2020 campaign and later reiterated by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021, applies solely to sentences issued by federal courts, as the federal government cannot impose a moratorium on state-level sentences. Currently, 27 states and the military still allow the death penalty, although executions are infrequently carried out.
Critics of the death penalty worry that Trump may reinstate federal executions once he assumes office. During his previous term, he advocated for the death penalty for individuals convicted of killing U.S. citizens or police officers. In the final months of his administration, 13 federal executions were carried out.
Public opinion on the death penalty remains divided. A Gallup poll from October indicated that 53% of respondents supported capital punishment, while 43% opposed it. Support tends to be greater for murder cases, although this backing has been gradually decreasing. Advances in forensic science and revelations regarding wrongful convictions have raised concerns about the guilt of individuals previously executed.
Opponents of the death penalty point to statistics indicating that it is disproportionately applied in cases involving white victims. Furthermore, studies show that Black defendants often receive harsher sentences compared to their white counterparts for similar crimes.
Recently, Biden also reduced sentences for nearly 1,500 individuals and granted clemency to an additional 39. It is common for outgoing presidents to issue pardons, but the number of clemencies granted by Biden has been particularly notable. His decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted of a firearms-related offense, drew criticism, as he had previously stated he would not grant his son clemency.
