Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates. Executions were suspended during his mandate.
The Trump team was planning a new “ wave of executions » on federal death row. This will not happen: US President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of the majority of federal death row inmates, the White House announced on Monday, in anticipation of Donald Trump taking office. The detainees were sentenced to life in prison.
« I have dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and building a fair and effective justice systemsaid Mr. Biden, the first president to publicly oppose the death penalty. Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole. These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has placed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murders. »
The three people who remain on federal death row are imprisoned for murders motivated by hate and terrorism. They include Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who killed nine African Americans at a church in Charleston, South Carolina; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who carried out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing; and of Robert Bowers, a white supremacist who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The federal government executed 13 prisoners at the end of Trump's first term, the first time since 2003. A Trump adviser recently told Rolling Stone that his team planned to carry out a new “ murderous madness » on federal death row once they were in power.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, approximately 2,250 prisoners are facing execution in the United States, with the vast majority to be executed by states. In September, Missouri killed Marcellus Williams, although prosecutors asked to have the conviction overturned in light of evidence of his innocence. This execution aroused the fury of activists.
Mr. Biden's decision was praised by the victims' families, former prison officers and religious leaders.
Joe Biden commuted the death sentence of Daryl Lawrence, who killed Bryan Hurst, a police officer on special duty at a bank. Donnie Oliverio, a former police officer and partner of Bryan Hurst, supports the Biden administration's decision. “ Putting to death the person who killed my police partner and best friend would not have brought me peace. The president did what was right and what is consistent with the faith he and I share. »
Mr Hurst's widow, however, criticized the decision: “ This is very distressing news for my family, but it also feels like a complete rejection and attack on the federal justice system. Lawrence's sentence was imposed by a jury and should stand. »
« Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, I mourn the victims of their despicable acts and I suffer for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable losses.Joe Biden said in his press release. 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 end the use of the death penalty in federal level. I cannot in good conscience allow a new administration to resume the executions I stopped. »
Naomi Lachance
Translated by the editorial staff
