President Biden’s recent decision to commute sentences of 37 of the 40 federal death row inmates has been met with praise from some and criticism from others, who say it’s unclear why the president made the decision in the first place.
The president announced Monday that the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates would be changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and the White House said in a statement that Biden believes “the United States must stop the use of the death penalty.” at the federal level, except in cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murders.
“When president biden took office, his administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions, and his actions today will prevent the next administration from carrying out execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice,” the White House said.
The three death row inmates who did not meet Biden’s requirements to have their sentences commuted are: Robert Bowers, the Tree of Life synagogue shooter who killed 11 people in 2018; Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his now-dead brother to carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.
Robert Bowers, the Tree of Life synagogue shooter who killed 11 people in 2018; Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his now-dead brother to carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, from left, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, FBI via AP)
John R. Lott Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and former chief economist at the U.S. Sentencing Commission in Washington, told Fox News Digital that Biden’s reasoning in deciding to commute the death sentences of 37 federal prisoners sentenced to death instead of all 40 remains unclear.
“There was mass murderers who commuted sentence, and yet there are others who killed fewer people for whom the sentence was not commuted,” Lott said. “When I read his statement, it was not obvious to me what his justification was for dividing the cases as he did.”
“If you think the death penalty is wrong, it’s not exactly clear where the line was drawn.”
Lott added that the president “may simply be playing to his bases” with his decision to commute 37 sentences, but noted that The families of the victims have shared statements. expressing how their loved ones suffered no mercy from those now receiving life sentences instead of death.
BIDEN FACES FURY FOR COMMUTING DEATH SENTENCES FOR KILLERS: ‘THIS IS TOTALLY INSANITY’
US President Joe Biden speaks on stage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Brandon Bell)
“Many families of these victims have… pointed out that several of these murderers have shown no remorse for their crimes,” Lott added. “They have committed brutal rape and torture. They have killed several people in very gruesome ways.”
Criminal justice reform advocates praised the move.
OFFER COMMUTES THE SENTENCES OF 37 PRISONERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN THE LAST MONTH OF THE PRESIDENCY
Matthew Mangino, an attorney at Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly and George and author of “The Executioner’s Toll,” told Fox News Digital that he believes Biden’s commutations strengthen the argument for the death penalty.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Brandywine in Wilmington, Delaware, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Ben Curtis)
“In a strange way, President Biden’s bold use of his clemency power to prevent the systematic execution of federal death row inmates strengthens the argument for the death penalty,” Mangino said. “He left three men on death row to most certainly face death.”
“While Biden generally revealed his disdain for the death penalty, he does believe, and his actions demonstrate, that the death penalty needs to exist for some.”
United Women in Faith, the largest faith-based women’s organization, called on Biden to commute the sentences of the 40 federal death row inmates, saying their organization understands how “the criminal justice system unfairly and unequally targets people of color” in a press release. ahead of Biden’s Monday decision.
After the president commuted 37 sentences, Emily Jones, Racial Justice executive for Women United in Faith, praised the move as “very exciting, a true Advent blessing!” in statements to Fox News Digital.
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters after casting his early vote for the 2024 general election, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, at a polling station in New Castle, Delaware. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Lott, however, said that death sentences often inspire criminals to plead guilty to their crimes to avoid death, thus allowing governments to avoid costly and emotionally draining death penalty trials. Dylann Roof, one of three federal inmates Biden decided to keep on death row, initially expressed interest in pleading guilty in his federal case to avoid the death penalty, Lott said.
“Economists have looked at this extensively and found that, on average, for every execution that occurs, you will see a reduction in the number of murders of between eight and eighteen,” Lott said. “That’s obviously related to the fact that (the death penalty) is a deterrent for these guys.”
Convicted murderers who will now escape execution include: Marcivicci Barnette, who killed a man in a carjacking and his ex-girlfriend; co-defendants Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who kidnapped and killed a woman after escaping from prison; Anthony Battle, who killed a prison guard; Jason Brown, who stabbed a postal worker to death; Thomas Hager, who committed a drug-related murder; David Runyon, who participated in the murder-for-hire plot of a naval officer; Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and killed a 12-year-old girl; Rejón Taylor, who robbed, kidnapped and killed a restaurant owner; and Alejandro Umaña, who killed two brothers inside a restaurant.
Kamala Harris is currently serving as Vice President of the United States during the Biden-Harris administration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The list also includes people who were convicted of murdering witnesses, a military service member, guards and bank employees during robberies, and other federal prisoners; as well as people convicted of drug-related murders and a man who directed the murders of 12 people, including six family members of a federal informant.
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Biden faced criticism earlier this month when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 prisoners held in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 40 others. including his son, Hunter.
As of Dec. 13, Biden has pardoned a total of 65 people and commuted sentences for 1,634 inmates during his time as president, according to the Justice Department.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
