Washington [US], December 24: US President Joe Biden announced on December 23 that he would commute the death sentences of 37 prisoners to life in prison.
The Washington Post reported that Mr. Biden has commuted the sentences of nearly all those on federal death row, a total of 40 people. The US president said the remaining 3 people who were not pardoned were involved in terrorism cases and hate-motivated mass murders. 37 people had their sentences commuted to life without parole.
"I condemn the killers, and I grieve for the families of the victims who have suffered irreplaceable loss. However, in my conscience and in my experience as a defense attorney, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee , vice president, and now president, I believe we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level," Biden said.
Biden campaigned in 2020 on a pledge to end the death penalty. However, his administration has been criticized for being inconsistent, with the Justice Department halting federal executions while simultaneously seeking new death sentences and defending existing ones.
Many advocacy groups, including victims' families, have called on Mr. Biden to pardon those on death row. Some fear that President-elect Donald Trump , who supports capital punishment, will return to the White House and that his term will see more federal executions.
Death penalty use has declined in the United States over the past several decades. Polls show that public support for the punishment has also declined. Executions have fallen, and nearly half of those on death row were sentenced at least 25 years ago.
Republican Senator Eric Schmitt said in an interview with Fox News on December 23 that Biden's decision to pardon death row inmates was "absolutely insane." Republicans have also criticized the US president recently when Biden pardoned a series of prisoners.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper