With 28 days left in office, US President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, replacing their sentences with life without parole, Axios reports, UNN writes.
Details
Biden promised to abolish the use of the death penalty at the federal level during his campaign for the White House in 2020.
His move preserves the lives of people convicted of murder, including the killings of police and military officers, people on federal land, and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or inmates in federal facilities, the AP reported.
"Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their heinous acts, and am heartbroken for all the families who have suffered an incredible and irreparable loss," Biden said in a statement. - "But, guided by my conscience and my experience, ... I am more convinced than ever that we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level.
In an attack on President-elect Trump, Biden added: "In good conscience, I cannot stand back and allow the new administration to resume the executions I stopped.
At the same time, it is noted that three federal prisoners still face the death penalty.
According to the publication, it is about Dylann Roof, a white supremacist supporter who committed the 2015 racist murders of nine black members of the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who helped carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured dozens; Robert Bowers, who shot and killed 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.
Earlier this year, Biden's Justice Department asked a federal judge for the first time to order the death penalty in a new case.
The request was made in relation to Peyton Jandron, a white shooter who killed 10 black people during a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
New York does not have the death penalty, but the federal government has jurisdiction to seek the penalty based on federal interests and alleged violations of federal laws, the Death Penalty Information Center reported in January.
Addendum
In 2021, Biden announced a moratorium on federal executions to study the protocols used.
During Trump's first term, 13 federal executions were carried out, more than any other president in modern history.
This month, Biden faced harsh criticism, including from Democrats, after pardoning his son, Hunter Biden. He was facing a sentence after being convicted of a felony gun crime and pleading guilty to a felony tax crime.
Monday's announcement followed recent pressure from human rights groups urging Biden to take steps to make it harder for Trump to increase the death penalty for federal prisoners.