President Joe Biden has taken a significant step towards fulfilling his campaign promise to end the federal death penalty. He has commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life in prison.
This move leaves only three individuals on federal death row. The decision has been praised by various groups, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Mobilizing Network.
These organizations advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, and Biden's move is seen as a significant step towards advancing the cause of human dignity and respect for human life.
The three individuals whose death sentences were not commuted are Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018; Dylann Roof, who killed nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber.
Biden's decision prevents President-elect Donald Trump from carrying out the execution sentences, as Trump has vowed to restart federal executions in his second term.
The commutation of these sentences marks a significant shift in the federal government's approach to capital punishment. It reflects a growing trend towards reevaluating the use of the death penalty in the United States.
Biden's move has been welcomed by many who argue that the death penalty is inherently unjust and prone to errors. They argue that it is often applied disproportionately to marginalized communities and that it fails to deter crime.
As the debate around capital punishment continues, Biden's decision is likely to be seen as a significant step towards a more just and equitable system of justice.