As President Joe Biden’s term draws to a close, he is reportedly considering commuting the sentences of most, if not all, of the 40 inmates on federal death row.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the move would thwart President-elect Trump’s plan to streamline executions when he takes office in January.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, who oversees federal prisons, recommended that Biden commute all but a few serious sentences, sources said.
The outlet reported that possible exceptions include 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who killed three people and injured more than 250; Robert Bowers, who Eleven people were killed in the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh; Dylann Roof killed nine people in 2015 at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
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On December 10, 2024, President Biden spoke at the Brookings Institution in Washington about his administration’s economic strategy and the future of the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Those who may have their sentences reduced to life in prison include a former Marine who killed two young girls and, later, a female Navy officer who was convicted of kidnapping and killing a 12-year-old girl. Vegas man, a Chicago podiatrist convicted of kidnapping and killing a 12-year-old girl. were convicted of the scheme that resulted in the murders of five Russian and Georgian immigrants.
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Biden, a lifelong Catholic, spoke with Pope Francis on Thursday. In his weekly prayers, Pope Francis asked prisoners on death row in the United States to have their sentences commuted.
Some sources said the president could make a decision before Christmas. The media pointed out that the biggest issue is the scope of commutation of sentences for death row inmates.
President Biden speaks from the podium (Associated Press)
Biden is the first president to openly oppose the death penalty, and his 2020 campaign website declares that he will “work to pass legislation to abolish the death penalty at the federal level and inspire states to follow the federal government’s example.”
People familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Biden initially considered issuing an executive order in January 2021, but the White House did not issue one.
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Six months into his administration, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on the federal death penalty to allow for further study. The narrow scope of the operation means the federal government under Biden has carried out no executions.
