Biden Considers Commuting Federal Death Row Sentences Ahead of Christmas

As President Joe Biden’s term nears its conclusion, he is reportedly considering a significant move to commute the sentences of most, if not all, of the 40 men currently on federal death row. The decision, which could be announced by Christmas, aligns with Biden’s long-standing opposition to capital punishment and his campaign pledge to work toward eliminating the federal death penalty.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Attorney General Merrick Garland has recommended commuting all but a few of the most egregious cases.

Among those likely to remain on death row are Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber who killed three people and injured over 250 in 2013; Robert Bowers, responsible for the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue attack in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead; and Dylann Roof, who killed nine people in 2015 at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

The commutation would reduce death sentences to life imprisonment for others, including an ex-Marine convicted of murdering two young girls and later a female naval officer; a Las Vegas man who kidnapped and killed a 12-year-old girl; a Chicago podiatrist who fatally shot a patient to prevent her from testifying in a Medicare fraud case; and two men involved in a kidnapping-for-ransom scheme that resulted in the deaths of five Russian and Georgian immigrants.

This potential action comes shortly after Biden’s meeting with Pope Francis, during which the pontiff reportedly called for clemency for condemned inmates in the United States. As a lifelong Catholic, Biden’s position against the death penalty is deeply rooted in his faith.

Biden’s consideration of clemency is seen as a direct challenge to President-elect Donald Trump’s intentions to streamline federal executions after taking office in January.

Trump has previously made his support for the death penalty clear, overseeing 13 executions during his last months in office, marking the highest number of federal executions in a single year in over a century.

In January 2021, Biden initially considered issuing an executive order to abolish the federal death penalty but refrained from doing so. Instead, six months into his administration, Attorney General Garland imposed a moratorium on federal capital punishment to allow further study of the issue. Since then, no federal executions have taken place under Biden’s presidency.

The primary question surrounding Biden’s potential clemency decision lies in its scope. While some advocates have called for blanket clemency for all federal death row inmates, others argue that certain cases, particularly those involving acts of terrorism and mass killings, should remain subject to the death penalty.

Biden’s 2020 campaign website emphasized his opposition to capital punishment and proposed legislation to eliminate it at the federal level while encouraging states to follow suit.

If Biden proceeds with commuting death row sentences, it would mark a historic shift in the federal government’s stance on capital punishment and further distinguish his administration from that of his predecessor.

A decision on the matter is expected soon, potentially setting a precedent for the federal government’s approach to the death penalty moving forward.