WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden on Monday (Dec 23) commuted the sentences for 37 out of 40 federal inmates on death row, converting them to life in prison without parole, before he hands power to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan 20.

Biden’s move will frustrate Trump’s plan to expand 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 during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021 after a nearly 20-year pause.

Biden, who ran for president opposing the death penalty, put federal executions on hold when he took office in January 2021.

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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 executions that I halted.”

A spokesperson for Trump criticised the commutations. “These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones,” spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoned 39 more convicted of nonviolent crimes.

He also issued a full and unconditional pardon of his son Hunter, after repeatedly insisting he would not do so. Hunter Biden had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.

Kelley Henry, a federal defender who represents Rejon Taylor and Ricky Allen Fackrell, two of the men whose sentences were commuted, said Biden has shown “extraordinary courage” with the decision. “At bottom, it is an act of grace and mercy,” she said.

She will not be able to speak to Taylor and Fackrell until Friday, but said she knows from preparing their clemency petitions that they will be grateful for the news.

Fackrell was convicted of murdering a fellow inmate at a federal prison in 2014. Taylor was convicted of carjacking and kidnapping resulting in death for killing a man in Georgia in 2003.

Henry expects that all 37 men will be moved from death row in Terre Haute, Indiana to other Bureau of Prisons facilities in the coming months.

Exceptions

The decision on Monday does not apply to cases of terrorism or hate-motivated mass murder.

It leaves out three of the most well-known men on federal death row: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted for his involvement in the bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line in 2013; Dylann Roof, convicted for the shooting spree at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015; and, Robert Bowers, who was convicted for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.

All three men have filed appeals and legal challenges to their sentences which must be resolved before execution dates can be set, a process that can take years.

Human-rights groups praised Biden’s decision. Amnesty International USA called it a big moment for human rights.

“The President’s decision is a significant step towards his 2020 promise to end the death penalty at the federal level and incentivise states to follow suit,” Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA said in a statement.

Biden’s decision does not affect the nearly 2,200 death-row prisoners convicted in state courts, as he holds no authority over such executions.

Republican lawmakers criticised Biden for the move. Republican Representative Chip Roy called it “unconscionable” on social media platform X. “The Presidents pardon power is being abused by @JoeBiden to carry out a miscarriage of justice,” he said.

Senator Tom Cotton said, “When given the choice between law-abiding Americans or criminals, Joe Biden and the Democrats choose criminals every time.”

Presidents typically order a round of pardons toward the end of their time in office.

The Office of the Pardon Attorney, part of the Justice Department, has received nearly 12,000 requests for clemency during Biden’s term, according to a tally kept by the pardon attorney. As of Dec 9, the president had issued 161 clemency grants — 26 pardons and 135 commutations.

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