U.S. President Joe Biden has commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row, marking a historic move ahead of his departure from the White House on January 20. The decision comes amid the looming return of former President Donald Trump, who reinstated federal executions during his first term.
Three men convicted of terrorism or hate crimes will remain on death row: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 2013 Boston Marathon bomber; Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who killed nine Black worshippers at a Charleston church in 2015; and Robert Bowers, who murdered 11 Jewish worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.
Biden, a staunch opponent of capital punishment, said his decision reflects his conscience and belief that the death penalty should be abolished at the federal level.
“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 in good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”
Focus on Life Sentences
The 37 inmates who had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment include individuals convicted of murders during bank robberies, killings of fellow inmates, and the murder of a prison guard. Biden emphasized that his clemency excludes those convicted of terrorism or hate-motivated mass killings.
Rights groups praised Biden’s actions, with Anthony Romero of the American Civil Liberties Union calling it “the most consequential step of any president in our history to address the immoral and unconstitutional harms of capital punishment.” Civil rights activist Martin Luther King III hailed the decision as a “historic day.”
Capital Punishment Under Biden and Trump
Biden had previously imposed a moratorium on federal executions, reversing Trump’s 2020 decision to end a 17-year pause. During Trump’s final six months in office, 13 federal executions were carried out—the highest number by any U.S. president in over a century.
Trump has signaled plans to resume and potentially expand the use of federal executions if he returns to office, proposing capital punishment for crimes including drug trafficking and murder by undocumented immigrants.
While most executions in the U.S. occur at the state level, the federal government can impose the death penalty for certain crimes, such as terrorism and judicial killings. This year, 25 executions have been carried out nationwide, all at the state level.
Clemency Tradition Continues
Biden’s decision follows a tradition of outgoing presidents issuing clemency. Earlier this month, he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals who had been on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 39 people convicted of non-violent offenses.
However, Biden faced criticism for pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, who had been sentenced on gun and tax charges. This move stirred controversy given Biden’s previous assurance that he would not interfere in his son’s legal matters.
With 23 states having abolished the death penalty and six others imposing moratoriums, Biden’s commutations underscore his administration’s stance on moving toward nationwide abolition of capital punishment.
