President Biden commutes 37 out of the 40 prisoners on death row
December 2024
It is gratifying to be able to report some good news concerning the death penalty particularly at this time of year. Yesterday, 22 December, President Biden commuted 37 death sentences turning the sentences into life without the possibility of parole. This, which will be one of his last acts of his presidency, was widely welcomed in the States and elsewhere.
Biden has come some way from his time as a Senator when he championed a bill to widen the scope of the death penalty to a further 60 new offences. It is ironic that some of those who are having their sentences commuted – with a preponderance of Black people – were condemned as a result of his bill.
Part of the reason is the worry about when President-elect Trump takes office in a month or so. Trump put more people to death than the previous ten presidents combined. He is committed to the penalty and with a compliant Supreme Court, there will be little to stop him. Biden said: “In all conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted”.
These are Federal death penalty cases and it does not affect state actions.
Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. The local group produces a monthly report on its use around the world.
Sources: The White House; BBC; NBC; ACLU; USA Today
Recent posts:
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 
Leave a comment