Biden commutes sentences of 37 death row inmates to life in prison

US President Biden will commute the death penalty of 37 out of 40 people to life imprisonment. The measure cannot be reversed by Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as the new president of the United States next month.

This measure spares the lives of people convicted of murder, including of police and military personnel or guards and inmates in federal prisons. People who were involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals are also covered by the measure.

The death penalty remains for three men. The first is Dylann Roof, who carried out the racist murders of nine black members of a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. The other two are the perpetrator of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers, who shot and killed 11 congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history.

According to the US non-profit organization Death Penalty Information Center, there are currently approximately 2,250 people in one American death row. Biden’s decision only concerns federal death row, which he has a say in as president.

“Make no mistake: I condemn these killers, mourn the victims of their despicable actions, and sympathize with all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden said in his statement. “But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Vice President and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level. “

Biden also says he has “dedicated his career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system.” He also emphasizes that the 37 people involved will not have a chance of early release.

Biden’s move frustrates Trump’s plans to carry out executions at a rapid pace. Unlike executive orders, clemency decisions cannot be reversed by a president’s successor.

Trump resumed federal executions after a nearly two-decade hiatus during his first term from 2017 to 2021. He did so at a rapid pace.

Biden actually suspended federal executions when he took office in January 2021.