Olusegun Ariyo
United States President, Joe Biden, has commuted the death sentences of nearly all the prisoners on federal death row except for only three.
New York Times reports that the development comes amid President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to resume federal executions when he returns to the White House in 2025.
Thirteen prisoners on federal death row were executed during Trump’s first term.
Thirty-seven federal death row inmates sentenced across 16 states will now see their sentences reduced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Of the 37 men whose sentences were commuted, 15 are white, 15 are Black, six are Latino and one is Asian.
They were all convicted of murder.
However, according to the report, three men, who were convicted of carrying out notorious mass killings, will remain on federal death row.
“I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level,” Biden said in a statement on Monday. “In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”
Biden had spoken about eliminating the death penalty at the federal level during his campaign in 2020, but the move to enact a law to that effect during his administration failed in Congress.
He has now decided to spare the lives of 37 death row prisoners as part of his final acts as President.
“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,” Biden said.
