President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates, converting them to life without parole in an effort to halt executions under the incoming administration. The decision aligns with his administration’s moratorium on federal executions and prevents President-elect Donald Trump from resuming the practice when he takes office.
“In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” Biden said in a statement.
The commutations impact nearly all federal death row inmates, but exclude individuals convicted of terrorism and hate-driven mass shootings.
Notable exclusions include:
• Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three and injured over 260.
• Robert Bowers, responsible for the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, which left 11 dead.
• Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black parishioners at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.
The 37 individuals who were granted commutations will now serve life sentences without parole.
Biden’s decision to commute these sentences comes as the United States prepares for a presidential transition. Trump’s administration resumed federal executions in 2020 after a 17-year pause, carrying out 13 executions in six months. By commuting these sentences, Biden ensures that executions for these inmates cannot resume under the incoming administration.
