Joe Biden commutes 37 death sentences to prison sentences

Shortly before the end of his term in office, US President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of dozens of people to life imprisonment without parole. The White House released the names of the 37 people affected, about whom Biden, as an avowed opponent of the death penalty, said: “Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, mourn the victims of their despicable acts and suffer with all the families who are have suffered unimaginable and final loss.” The 82-year-old Democrat justified his decision based on his conscience and his experience as a public defender and politician.

“I am more convinced than ever that we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level,” Biden said. Under his aegis, a moratorium on executions at the federal level has been in effect since July 2021. The president cannot pardon death row inmates convicted in the states.

Biden has excluded three of the 40 inmates sentenced to death at the federal level from commuting their sentences – namely those who were convicted of terrorism or hate-motivated mass murders, including the surviving Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. “I cannot stand idly by and allow a new administration to resume executions that I have suspended,” Biden said.

His successor, Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, is a strong supporter of the death penalty. It is believed that the Republican will end Biden’s moratorium. During the election campaign, Trump spoke out, among other things, in favor of executing migrants who killed US citizens or police officers. In the last seven months of his first term, Trump carried out 13 federal executions – more than any US president in decades.

The death penalty is still permitted in the USA at the federal level, in the military and in 27 states, but is no longer carried out everywhere. While most Americans still support the death penalty for murderers, their slim majority on the issue continues to shrink.

Advances in forensic science and revelations of miscarriages of justice are calling into question the presumed guilt of convicts who have already been executed. At the same time, discrimination in the criminal justice system is criticized. Studies show that the death penalty is more likely to be imposed when the victims are white. Additionally, blacks often receive harsher sentences than whites for similar crimes. The quality of legal representation also plays a crucial role and often leads to inequalities.

Just over a week ago, Biden had already reduced the federal prison sentences of almost 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others – a tradition that many US presidents follow at the end of their terms in office. The pardon of his son Hunter Biden at the beginning of December caused a particular stir. The 54-year-old had admitted tax offenses and was also found guilty of weapons law violations.