WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Monday commuted the sentences for 37 out of 40 federal inmates on death row, converting them to life in prison without parole before he hands over power to President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
Biden’s move will frustrate Trump’s plan to resume a rapid pace of executions. Unlike executive orders, clemency decisions cannot be reversed by a president’s successor, although the death penalty can be sought more aggressively in future cases.
Trump restarted federal executions after a nearly 20-year pause during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021.
Biden, who ran for president opposing the death penalty, put federal executions on hold when he took office in January 2021.
In recent weeks, he has faced pressure from congressional Democrats, opponents of capital punishment and religious leaders such as Pope Francis to commute federal death sentences before he leaves.
“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 said in a statement.
“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 execution that I halted.”
Earlier this month, Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoned 39 more convicted of nonviolent crimes.
