By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences for 37 out of 40 federal inmates on death row, converting them to life in prison without parole before the transition of power to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
Biden’s decision effectively halts Trump’s efforts to expedite executions. Unlike executive orders, clemency decisions are not reversible by a successor, although future administrations can pursue the death penalty more vigorously in new cases.
During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump resumed federal executions after a hiatus of nearly two decades. In contrast, Biden, who opposed the death penalty during his presidential campaign, paused federal executions upon assuming office in January 2021.
Pressure from congressional Democrats, capital punishment opponents, and religious figures like Pope Francis prompted Biden to commute federal death sentences before the end of his term.
In a statement, Biden expressed his condemnation for the convicted individuals, sympathy for the victims, and solidarity with the grieving families. He emphasized that his decision to halt executions is rooted in his conscience and convictions.
Biden had recently commuted the sentences of almost 1,500 individuals and pardoned 39 others convicted of nonviolent offenses. Notably, he also granted a full pardon to his son Hunter Biden, who had pleaded guilty to tax offenses and firearm-related charges despite Biden’s prior assertions that he would not intervene in his son’s case.
The commutation issued on Monday excludes cases related to terrorism or hate-motivated mass killings. High-profile inmates like Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Dylann Roof, and Robert Bowers, convicted for notorious crimes, remain on federal death row pending the resolution of their legal challenges and appeals, a process that could span several years.
Biden’s decision does not impact the approximately 2,200 individuals on death row in state jurisdictions, where the president lacks authority over execution proceedings.
As his term nears its end, Biden, like his predecessors, is expected to issue additional pardons. The Office of the Pardon Attorney within the Justice Department has received around 12,000 clemency petitions during Biden’s tenure, with the president granting 161 clemency actions – 26 pardons and 135 commutations as of December 9.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Kieran Murray and Nicholas Yong)
