US President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 inmates to unconditional life imprisonment just before the end of his term. International media, including: The GuardianMonday. It is common for American presidents to pardon convicts at the end of their terms.
Biden makes the decision to prevent his successor Donald Trump from carrying out the death sentences. The Republican is in favor of the death penalty. As president, Trump had more people put to death than the ten previous presidents combined, reports The Guardian.
As a senator, Biden was still a supporter of the death penalty, but since his 2020 presidential campaign he has argued against death sentences. The Democrat says he condemns the “murderers”, but is “more convinced than ever” that the death penalty must be stopped at the federal level, due to possible unjust sentences and racial inequality.
Pardon to 1,500 convicts
Biden’s decision leaves three death row inmates at the federal level. The trio’s crimes were deemed too serious for pardon. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev committed an attack during the Boston Marathon in 2013, Dylann Roof shot and killed nine black churchgoers in 2015 and Robert Bowers killed 11 worshipers after storming a synagogue in 2018.
Earlier this month, Biden pardoned a record number of 1,500 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, such as possession of banned narcotics. The president also prevented his 54-year-old son Hunter Biden from having to go to prison for the illegal purchase of a firearm and tax evasion. Critics said the president was guilty of nepotism by pardoning his son’s sentence.