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With just under one month left in his term, President Joe Biden has commuted the death sentences of more than three dozen inmates who were awaiting execution on federal Death Row. The move comes before Biden will have a final meeting with Pope Francis in January and after the two spoke by phone December 19, and it answers calls for mercy from Catholic groups that advocate for the abolition of capital punishment.
According to ABC News, the Biden administration announced that nearly all of the 40 inmates of the federal Death Row have seen their death sentences commuted. This does not mean these prisoners are now free to go, but that their death sentence has changed to a life sentence without parole.
As of now, there remain only three inmates in federal Death Row: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, of the Boston Marathon bombing; Robert Bowers, of the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue; and Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black churchgoers in South Carolina. The administration said that these sentences would not be commuted due to their terroristic and hate-motivated nature.
In a statement, President Biden clarified that changing the sentence for these prisoners in no way makes light of their crimes:
"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 wrote in a statement about the commutations. "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 stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level."
A Catholic call
The decision falls in line with the faith of the second Catholic US President, and answers calls from religious and human rights groups alike.
Aleteia previously reported on the efforts of The Catholic Mobilizing Network and its Executive Director, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, to sway the president to take action. In addition, a letter imploring President Biden to commute the sentences was signed by over 130 civil and human rights groups.
The decision also falls in line with the guidance of Pope Francis, who just frequently speaks out against the death penalty and just recently mentioned the US situation. The Pope prayed during his weekly Angelus address earlier this month that the US would commute the sentences of its federal Death Row inmates:
"Today, I feel compelled to ask all of you to pray for the inmates on death row in the United States," the Pope said December 8. "Let us pray that their sentences may be commuted or changed. Let us think of these brothers and sisters of ours and ask the Lord for the grace to save them from death."
