President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 inmates.
“I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole,” Biden said in a White House press release.
“These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” Biden said. “Make no mistake: 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.”
“But 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. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”
Some of those who will no longer face the death penalty include Jorge Avila-Torrez, who sexually assaulted two young girls before murdering them; Kaboni Savage, a drug dealer who is involved in the deaths of 12 people, including four children; and James Roane, Jr., who is implicated in the deaths of 11 people.
The three individuals whose sentences were not commuted are Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue; Dylann Roof, who killed 9 people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church; and Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
A White House fact sheet says the “historic clemency action builds on the President’s record of criminal justice reform. The President has issued more commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms.”
