Biden commutes most federal death-row sentences to life in prison

WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- Several days after speaking with Pope Francis, President Joe Biden announced Dec. 23 that he would commute most existing federal death sentences to life in prison. The move denies President-elect Donald Trump, who has sought to expand the use of capital punishment, the opportunity to carry out these executions after he returns to the White House in January.

Biden became the first U.S. president in 2020 to have campaigned on an openly anti-death penalty platform. Opponents of capital punishment had been pushing Biden to follow through with concrete action in the post-election lame-duck period.

That cause gained the attention of Pope Francis. Earlier this month, the pontiff prayed publicly for these sentences to be commuted. Pope Francis and Biden recently spoke by telephone and are scheduled to meet next month. (Related: Statement from Archbishop Charles C. Thompson regarding President Biden’s commuting death row sentences)

"I've dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system," Biden said in a statement. "Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole."

The three people on federal death row who did not have their sentences commuted by Biden were convicted of "terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder," Biden said. They include: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who with his deceased brother was convicted of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013; Dylann Roof, a White nationalist who was convicted of killing nine people at a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Robert Bowers, who was convicted of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.

"Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss," Biden said. "But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted."

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, a group that advocates for the abolition of capital punishment in line with Catholic teaching and one of the groups urging Biden to issue the commutations, said in a statement Biden's decision "advances the cause of human dignity and underscores the sacred value of every human life."

Vaillancourt Murphy said CMN "believes in the God-given dignity of every person, no matter the harm one has caused or suffered, so we give thanks to God for every life that was spared by President Biden's action today. This unparalleled action should mark a turning point in our nation's justice system and serve as a model for leaders at the state level to follow suit."

"As we approach a special time of favor with Jubilee 2025, when the Holy Father has called for forgiveness, reconciliation and an end to the death penalty, President Biden -- our fellow Catholic -- chose mercy by commuting the death sentences of 37 men on federal death row," she said.

However, she noted that the remaining men on death row are at risk of execution in the future.

Vaillancourt Murphy acknowledged "the incomparable suffering that the families and loved ones of murder victims endure."

"We hear the cry for justice and accountability that grave harm rightly deserves," she said. "Because of our conviction that every person deserves the opportunity to transform hurt and suffering into healing, redemption, and wholeness, we celebrate today's decision that underscores the sacred value of 37 lives and leaves open the possibility for repair and transformation to the greatest extent possible. "

Many remain on death row on state crimes, and those convictions include cases of "intellectual disability, mental incompetency, racial bias, prosecutorial misconduct, unfair sentencing disparities, innocence and more," Vaillancourt Murphy argued.

The president's pardon authority includes federal crimes, not state ones. More than 2,000 people are on death row for state-level crimes in the U.S., according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, said in a statement Dec. 23 the commutations "are a significant step in advancing the cause of human dignity and respect for human life from womb to tomb in our nation."

"My brother bishops and I unite in expressing our gratitude that President Biden has commuted the federal death sentences of 37 men," Archbishop Broglio said.

He said the U.S. bishops' conference has long called for an end to the death penalty. Archbishop Broglio said the president's action is "a significant step in advancing the cause of human dignity in our nation." The archbishop said that "this act of mercy is a step closer to building a culture of life." He encouraged all lawmakers to work to abolish the death penalty, and redirect the resources used for capital punishment to instead provide compassionate professional support to families of victims.

"During this season of Advent when our Church prepares for the coming of our Lord, we pray for and encourage all elected leaders to similarly take bold actions to protect human life in all of its stages," he said.

The Catholic bishops of California likewise expressed gratitude to Biden for his action, saying, "These commutations, just prior to both Christmas and the beginning of the Jubilee Year, speak to the inviolable dignity of every human person and illustrate the great need for mercy in our world. Today's action is a courageous and vital step toward acknowledging capital punishment's harm to society and resolving faults in our criminal justice system."

They also said they "continue to pray for the three remaining men on federal death row, asking that mercy be granted to them as well."

"The federal death penalty has failed to deter crime or improve public safety, risks the execution of innocent people, and runs counter to the belief in the dignity of all human life and the possibility of redemption," the prelates said in a Dec. 23 statement issued by the California Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state's Catholic bishops.

They also called on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to follow Biden's "leadership on this issue and grant clemency for California's 605 death row inmates, instead sentencing them to life without the possibility of parole."

The Catholic Church's magisterium opposes the use of the death penalty as inconsistent with the inherent sanctity of human life, and advocates for its abolition worldwide. In his 2020 encyclical "Fratelli Tutti," Pope Francis cited St. John Paul II's critique of the practice, writing that his predecessor "stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice."

"There can be no stepping back from this position," Pope Francis wrote. Echoing the teaching he clarified in his 2018 revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the pope said, "Today we state clearly that the death penalty is inadmissible and the church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide."