Biden commutes sentences for 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates

NEWS WIRES

23 December 2024 at 5:13 am·1-min read

US President Joe Biden on December 24, 2024 commuted the death sentences of 37 of 40 federal inmates.

By commuting the death sentences of 37 of 40 federal inmates on Monday, US President Joe Biden leaves very few prisoners on federal death row before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2025.

US President Joe Biden on Monday commuted the death sentences of 37 of 40 federal inmates, taking action ahead of the return of Donald Trump who oversaw a sweeping number of lethal injections during his first term.

With less than a month left in office, Biden had faced growing calls from death penalty opponents to commute the sentences of those on death row to life in prison without parole, which the 37 will now serve.

The move leaves only a handful of high-profile killers who acted out of hate or terrorism facing the federal death penalty -- for which there has been a moratorium under Biden.

"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 in a statement.

"I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole," he said.

Robert Bowers, who killed 11 Jewish worshippers during a 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, will also remain on death row.

(AFP)

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