Joe Biden, president of the United States, has made a controversial decision just days before leaving office to hand it over to Donald Trump, winner of the elections in the North American country last November
Biden announced on Monday that he will commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row. All commuted sentences will be reclassified and converted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The Democratic president has issued more commutations at the end of his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms, the US presidency said in the statement.
Biden, who will leave office on January 20, “has devoted his career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system” and “believes that the United States should end the use of the death penalty at the federal level, except in cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” it explains.
Biden’s decision will prevent Trump from confirming sentences
When he took office in January 2021, his administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions, and Monday’s measures will prevent the administration of Republican Donald Trump “from confirming execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice”.
The president said in a statement that the commutations are in line with the moratorium applied to cases not related to terrorism or mass murder motivated by hatred.
Biden pardoned 1,500 Americans earlier this month
Earlier this month, Biden announced pardons for approximately 1,500 Americans (the most in a single day) who have demonstrated successful rehabilitation and a commitment to making communities safer.
This included commutations for nearly 1,500 people who were placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities, as well as 39 pardons for nonviolent offenders.