12/23/2024

Biden Commutes Sentences of Nearly All Inmates on Federal Death Row

Thirty-seven death sentences were commuted

President Joe Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of nearly all prisoners on federal death row, sparing the lives of 37 men just a month before Donald Trump will return to the Oval Office with a promise to restart federal executions.

Those affected by Biden's action, all of whom were convicted of murder, will serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole instead of facing execution. Only three men, who each carried out notorious mass killings, will remain on federal death row.

The president campaigned in 2020 on ending the federal death penalty. Although proposed legislation to that effect failed to advance in Congress during his administration, Biden directed the Justice Department to issue a moratorium on federal executions. Thirteen prisoners on federal death row were put to death during Trump’s first term.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The New York Times.