In a historic move, US President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 out of 40 federal inmates on death row, transforming their sentences to life in prison without parole. This action was taken in anticipation of Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House, who had previously overseen numerous federal executions during his first term. Biden’s decision further strengthens his position against the death penalty, as he continues to enforce a moratorium on federal executions, with exceptions for terrorism and hate-motivated mass murders.
This commutation leaves only a small group of high-profile criminals on death row, including Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, responsible for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, and Robert Bowers, who murdered 11 Jewish worshippers in the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Biden emphasized that while he condemns the heinous acts committed by these individuals, he believes that abolishing the federal death penalty is the right path forward.
Biden’s administration had already halted federal executions after he took office. During his campaign, he advocated for ending the use of the death penalty. In contrast, Trump had pushed for expanding its use, especially for migrants and drug traffickers. Since 2020, under Trump, the federal government executed 13 inmates, marking the highest number in over a century. As of 2024, while 23 states have abolished the death penalty, 25 executions have been carried out in the US at the state level this year.
