President Joe Biden’s recent choice to change the sentences of almost all federal death row inmates to life in prison without parole has sparked a heated discussion about the ethics of executing convicted murderers and what truly serves justice for the victims’ families.
He’s received criticism from various quarters, including a spokesperson for President-elect Donald Trump, some congressional Republicans, and even a House Democrat who argued that Biden might be overstepping his authority by interfering with the judicial system through this last-minute decision on Monday morning.
Out of 40 death row inmates, he commuted the sentences of 37. On top of that, some anti-death penalty advocates voiced their disappointment, claiming he didn’t go far enough; one family member of a victim even expressed that Biden should have included the remaining three federal inmates facing execution in his commutations.
I really want the President to realize that when someone is sentenced to death, it leaves the families of the victims hanging in uncertainty, thinking they have to wait for an execution before they can start healing.
That’s what Rev. Sharon Risher said, whose mother and two cousins lost their lives back in 2015 at Mother Emmanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
She’s advocating for Dylann Roof, the man who shot them, to have his death sentence commuted. She emphasized that politics shouldn’t interfere with compassion and reminded the President that you can’t prioritize one victim over another.
Biden’s supporters are saying he’s really stepping up as a moral leader, especially with his move to fulfill a campaign promise to abolish the federal death penalty.
In his announcement, he mentioned that he couldn’t in good conscience let the planned executions of those on federal death row happen. He pointed to his experience as a public defender and contrasted it with Trump’s backing of the death penalty as key influences on his decision.
Interestingly, Trump didn’t directly address Biden’s commutations but did share other posts on social media that day. His spokesperson, Steven Cheung, took the opportunity to criticize Biden, stating that these individuals are some of the most dangerous criminals and calling Biden’s choice a disrespectful act toward victims and their families.
Before making this announcement, Biden was feeling pressure from congressional Democrats and anti-death penalty advocates to commute these sentences before leaving office. Even Pope Francis weighed in; he spoke with Biden last week and urged him to halt the executions, considering Biden’s Catholic faith.
Biden went along with commuting sentences in almost every situation, except for three notable cases. He chose not to reduce the sentences of Robert Bowers, who was found guilty of the tragic 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that claimed 11 lives; Dylann Roof, who was convicted for the horrific Mother Emanuel Church shooting where nine people lost their lives; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 that killed three and injured over 260.
When he was running for president in 2020, Biden made a commitment to abolish the death penalty. He mentioned that he didn’t want to carry the burden of around thirty more deaths after his presidency ends.
I truly believe we need to put an end to federal executions, he stated. I can’t just sit back and allow a new administration to start carrying out executions again after I’ve put a stop to them.
Biden faces criticism from both political parties.
Supporters of the anti-death penalty movement jumped in to express their backing right away. Some urged Biden, who also chose not to commute the death sentences of military personnel, to take further action.
Jean Schmidt, a former Republican congresswoman and current Ohio state representative who witnessed the Boston Marathon bombing, shared her change of heart: I was initially thrilled that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev received the death penalty.
Today I have changed. She went on to say she believes he should serve life in prison without any chance of parole and expressed her disappointment that President Biden hasn’t changed his sentence to reflect that.
Rev. Jeff Hood, who serves as a spiritual advisor on death row, didn’t hold back in his criticism either. He accused Biden of prioritizing victims unfairly: We’re stuck in the same moral pit we were before, he told us.
He pointed out that even though Biden has commuted some death sentences, by not commuting all of them, he’s ensuring that executions will keep happening.
Republicans in Congress were also frustrated with Biden’s actions. Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas stated on X (formerly Twitter), “Joe Biden is spending his final days in office trying to spare some of America’s most dangerous criminals.
These individuals were sentenced to death by a jury and went through an extensive appeals process.” In another post, he called for investigations from both Congress and the Department of Justice into whether these commutations were legal.
Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas known for his strong conservative views, claimed that President Biden is misusing his pardon authority, leading to a serious injustice. He emphasized that our belief in the rule of law is crucial for it to function properly.
According to Roy, it’s not just Biden who’s at fault; he pointed fingers at the radical leftists who are undermining the rule of law as well. He expressed this on X, stating that this situation needs to change. The White House hasn’t yet replied to requests for their take on these remarks.
Democratic legislators express their backing for commutations.
Reactions to Biden’s commutations mostly split along party lines in Congress. Rep. Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts praised the President for taking such a significant step, saying it reflects the moral leadership needed right now.
She had previously pushed for Biden to commute federal death sentences during a press conference earlier this month. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, noted that Biden’s decision holds individuals accountable by giving them life imprisonment without parole, which keeps the public safe while avoiding the complex issues tied to capital punishment.
However, not all Democrats were on board with Biden’s move. Rep. Mike Quigley from Illinois expressed his disagreement in a CNN interview, suggesting that the previous administration was creating a troubling precedent by overturning court decisions.
He acknowledged concerns about future actions under a Trump administration but emphasized that clemency should be reserved for cases where justice has clearly not been served, stating firmly, No one is above the law.