President Biden's commutation of the sentences of nearly all federal death row inmates has sparked a chorus of supporters and critics, but the decision comes as he attempts to piece together his troubled legacy. It's a thing.
The president commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates on Monday, reclassifying their sentences from execution to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The move leaves only three “difficult cases”: two notorious church and synagogue shooters, and a brother of the Boston Marathon bomber.
In a written statement announcing the move, Biden said the difference between commuters and non-commuters stems from his administration's decision to impose a moratorium on federal executions, except in cases of terrorism or mass murders motivated by hatred. He said it was in line with his position.
“Make no mistake about it. I condemn these murderers, I mourn the victims of their despicable acts, and my heart goes out to every family who has suffered an unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden said. said. stated in a statement.
“Guided by my conscience and experience, I am more convinced than ever that the use of the death penalty must end at the federal level,” he added.
Biden's announcement of his demotion comes as he has been seen absent from major actions in Washington in recent days.
He has been largely absent from public view over the past week, apart from a few local stops around Washington as members of Congress and President-elect Trump spar over government funding. He spent the weekend at the White House ending Monday, but chose not to make any public appearances or speak publicly about the layoffs.
Still, criminal justice groups that advocate against the death penalty were among those who praised the decision.
Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, called it a “courageous” decision by Biden. shed light on needed reforms. Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said of the move: Trapped in Biden's legacy As a “leader who champions racial justice, humanity, and morality.” And the Equal Justice Initiative said clemency from Biden is possible. Indicates a “turning point” In the history of the death penalty in the United States. ”
The three death row inmates who were not granted clemency by Biden on Monday fall into some of the types of cases not included in the administration's moratorium.
They are Robert D. Bowers, the 2018 gunman at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue, and Dylann Roof, who opened fire on black parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is one of the two brothers who carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. they are Everyone still has faces execution.
The trio committed some of the most high-profile crimes of the past decade, including hate crimes and terrorism charges. Some supporters say Mr. Biden's commutation, while broad, is insufficient because of exclusions.
The Rev. Sharon Risher, whose mother Ethel Lee Lance and two cousins were killed by Roof, said Monday that Biden's decision to exclude the convicted killer was a “disappointment” for the victims' families. “It's fair,” he said.
“If you're going to commute to work at age 37 instead of age 40, President Biden, you're playing judge,” Risher said in a video news conference hosted by the nonprofit Death Penalty Action. He spoke through tears. “And I want you to understand that when you put a murderer on death row, your family is held hostage for years of appeals.”
Rep. Gene Schmidt, R-Ohio, who witnessed the Boston Marathon bombings after completing the race, said in a statement distributed by death penalty organizations that he was initially excited about Tsarnaev's death sentence, but has since changed his position. .
“I believe he deserves life in prison without parole, and I am upset that President Biden will not commute his death sentence to life in prison without parole,” she said.
Biden has also faced criticism for commuting the death sentence in the first place.
Jorge Avila-Torres was one of the death row inmates whose sentences were commuted. He was convicted in 2014 of strangling Navy officer Amanda Snell inside a barracks in Arlington, Virginia, and later in 2005 for the murders of two girls, ages 8 and 9, in Illinois. Pleaded guilty.
Jonathan Fahey, the former federal prosecutor who convicted Avila Torrez, called Biden's leniency “outrageous.”
“Joe Biden said he could not in good conscience do this and would impose the death penalty on a case where the jury heard all the facts and made a decision, including aggravating and mitigating factors for and against the death penalty.'' 'That was definitely an appropriate sentence,' Fahey said. “So the idea that he has higher moral authority than a jury, higher than Congress, higher than the American people, is really repulsive.”
With less than a month left until he leaves office and Trump's inauguration, the president said part of his decision was because he believed the Trump administration would resume executions, which had been paused under his watch. .
“I cannot in good conscience quietly allow a new administration to resume executions that I had halted,” he said in a statement.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump called for tougher criminal penalties, including the death penalty, for drug traffickers. said in 2018 There should be “ultimate punishment” for drug traffickers.
The president's decision was also made in light of the pressure he has been under since leaving office to pardon more people. given one For my son Hunter Biden.
The president has insisted for more than a year that he would not pardon his son, and the latest reversal would leave some stains on his legacy. Monday's decision to commute the federal death row inmate's sentence is part of his pledge to follow through with other pardons after facing attacks from both sides of the aisle for rescuing his son.
Biden, the second Catholic president in U.S. history, called for an end to the federal death penalty in 2020. pope francis I prayed recently Biden has called for commutations or changes to sentences for inmates on America's death row as he considers what kind of pardons to announce before his term ends.
Monday's U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops they expressed their gratitude For commuting the sentence after Biden advocated abolishing the death penalty. Biden has had a complicated relationship with his faith, coming under fire from some conservative Catholic bishops early in his administration over his support for abortion access, and some even worried that he would deny him Holy Communion. .
Catholic nun Helen Prejean also praised Biden's move. She was a leading advocate against the death penalty and wrote the novel Dead Man Walking.
“President Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 federal death row inmates. They will now serve life sentences and will not be executed. This is a milestone in the fight to abolish the death penalty. It happened, thank you!” she said.
Biden previously faced backlash from Catholics for backtracking on the death penalty in 2022, when Attorney General Merrick Garland pursued the death penalty for the first time in his administration for the Buffalo supermarket shooting. When asked about the move at the time, the White House pointed to the Justice Department's independence.
Some conservatives were quick to criticize Biden, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), who called the move “politically expedient.”
The senator said on social platform I can't even defend it.”
Biden also faced backlash from Democrats like Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), who has also criticized Hunter Biden's pardon. Mr. Quigley, who served on the House Judiciary Committee, suggested such a measure would undermine the court's autonomy.
“I have great concerns about the death penalty overall, but I also have concerns about the executive branch overturning cases that have been decided in courts across the country,” the Democrat told CNN. “There has to be some autonomy there.”
