President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 inmates on federal death row, the White House said Monday.
The move commutes the sentences of all but three of the 40 inmates on death row. Biden said the commutations were “consistent with my Administration’s moratorium on federal executions,” except for terrorism and hate-motivated mass killings.
They are three people on the federal execution list who were not on Biden’s hit list Dzhokhar TsarnaevOne of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing; Robert Bowerswho was tried for the anti-Semitic attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue; and Dylann RoofA racially motivated shooting in South Carolina that killed nine black churchgoers.
according to White House tab about the move, commutation recipients will have their sentences “reclassified from execution to life without the possibility of parole.”
“Make no mistake: I condemn these killers, grieve for the victims of their despicable actions, and grieve for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden wrote in a joint statement.
“But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, as chairman, vice chairman and now chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I am more convinced than ever that we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level.” added Biden.
The White House filing said the move was an effort to prevent President-elect Donald Trump from “carrying out execution sentences that would not be given under current policy and practice.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
