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In one of his most notable actions against capital punishment, President Joe Biden used his clemency authority on Monday to commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 men on federal d-ath row, converting their punishment to life imprisonment without parole.
This significant move, announced during Biden’s final month in office, aims to prevent the Trump administration from resuming federal executions that had been paused under a moratorium issued by Biden in 2021.
However, Biden did not extend clemency to three individuals involved in high-profile cases of terrorism or hate-fueled mass killings: Robert Bowers, convicted for the 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue; Dylann Roof, responsible for the 2015 mass shooting at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, Biden explained that the commutations align with his administration’s stance against the death penalty. “Make no mistake: I condemn these m-rderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden said.
Reflecting on his experience as both a public defender and an elected official, he added, “I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”
Biden hinted that his decision was partly motivated by concerns over the incoming Trump administration, which could potentially resume federal executions. “In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” Biden said.
Among those whose sentences were commuted are Len Davis, a former New Orleans police officer convicted of orchestrating the murder of a woman who filed a complaint against him; Brandon Council, convicted of killing two women during a bank robbery while claiming that “demons” controlled people’s minds; and Billie Jerome Allen, convicted for his role in a bank robbery but who maintained his innocence in public campaigns.
Although Biden has long opposed the d-ath penalty, he had taken minimal action on the issue during most of his presidency.
Advocacy groups, religious leaders, and former prison officials had been urging Biden to take this step, with Pope Francis publicly advocating for the abolition of capital punishment as recently as December 8.
Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, praised Biden’s decision as a pivotal moment. “I commend President Biden for recognizing that we don’t have to kill people to show that killing is wrong,” Stevenson said. “We can and should reduce violence in our communities by refusing to sanction more violence and killing in our courts and prisons.”
Biden’s 2020 campaign pledge included a promise to abolish the d-ath penalty and support legislation to eliminate it at the federal level.
However, little progress was made in Congress during his administration, with Democratic-led bills to end capital punishment failing to advance. Advocates renewed their calls for action after President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory last month.
Trump’s record on federal executions loomed large over the debate. During his first term, Trump reinstated federal executions in July 2019 after a 17-year pause, overseeing the execution of 13 people before leaving office—a record for any single president.
Biden’s commutations far exceed those of his Democratic predecessors. President Barack Obama commuted just two d-ath sentences during his time in office, while President Bill Clinton commuted one.
Monday’s announcement follows Biden’s recent clemency actions, including pardoning 39 individuals convicted of nonviolent cr-mes and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 others on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, it also comes amidst controversy over Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, for tax and gun-related charges.
As Biden prepares to leave office, his actions on capital punishment solidify his legacy as a president willing to challenge one of the most contentious aspects of the American justice system, even in the face of political opposition and controversy.
