37 people spared execution while 3 mass killers remain on death row

On Monday, Biden released a statement, announcing, “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole.” Biden noted in his statement that he condemns the acts of murder for which all of these federal inmates have been convicted. “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,” the president said. Nevertheless, Biden argued that “guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”

I am commuting the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole.

This action is consistent with my Administration's moratorium on federal executions, except for cases involving terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. pic.twitter.com/Obxfytxxbb

— President Biden (@POTUS) December 23, 2024

In justifying the commutations, the White House cited support from civil rights groups, religious leaders, and relatives and friends of victims of the people on federal death row. For example, retired police officer Donnie Oliverio said of the president’s decision that “putting to death the person who killed my police partner and best friend would have brought me no peace,” per The Washington Post. Biden noted in his statement that he was granting commutations “in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” a decision that leaves intact the death sentences of three federal inmates. These include Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing along with his older brother who was later killed in a shootout with police. Also remaining on death row are two men who committed racially motivated mass shootings: Dylann Roof, who in 2015 killed nine Black Bible study attendees at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and Robert Bowers, who shot to death 11 people attending service at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.

Death Penalty

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