U.S. President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates on Monday, converting them to life in prison without parole. The move comes weeks before Biden hands power to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20. Unlike executive orders, clemency decisions are irreversible by successors, though future administrations can pursue the death penalty more aggressively.
Biden halted federal executions upon taking office in 2021, ending Trump’s prior resumption of executions after a 20-year pause. Amid pressure from Democrats, anti-death-penalty advocates, and Pope Francis, Biden stated, “I condemn these murderers, grieve for their victims, and ache for their families, but we must end the federal death penalty.”
The commutations exclude terrorism and hate-crime cases, leaving high-profile inmates like Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof on death row. Biden’s decision affects only federal inmates, leaving nearly 2,200 state-level death row prisoners unaffected.
Republican lawmakers criticized the move, calling it a “miscarriage of justice,” while human rights groups praised it as a step toward Biden’s campaign promise to abolish the federal death penalty. Amnesty International called it a “significant human rights moment.”
Earlier in December, Biden commuted sentences for 1,500 people convicted of nonviolent crimes and issued a full pardon for his son Hunter, who faced tax and firearm charges. The Office of the Pardon Attorney has recorded nearly 12,000 clemency requests during Biden’s presidency, with 161 grants issued so far.
Convicts whose sentences were commuted, such as Rejon Taylor and Ricky Fackrell, will be transferred from Indiana’s Terre Haute death row to other facilities.
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