The Biden administration made a striking announcement on Monday morning: President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates. However, the decision has drawn criticism, as the exclusion of three inmates appears to undermine Biden’s stated claim that halting the federal death penalty is a matter of conscience.
Critics argue that the exceptions not only weaken Biden’s rationale and make the decision appear politically motivated but also dismiss the suffering of the victims and families of the 37 inmates whose sentences were commuted. This move seems to suggest that their pain and loss are less worthy of justice compared to the victims of Robert Bowers, Dylann Roof, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
By not commuting all of those sentenced to death, Biden is saying two things: a) death penalty is not intrinsically evil; b) the distinctions between facts of those commuted & 3 that were not mattered. So what are those distinctions? 1/ https://t.co/Vx1F5DCG9y
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) December 23, 2024
3/ if you cannot keep society safe by locking person up for rest of life. But we know Biden a) didn't make decision; b) if he did/whoever did didn't care about prudential judgment but cared only about politics.
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) December 23, 2024
Additionally, this decision appears to ignore that several of the individuals whose sentences were commuted have committed additional murders while incarcerated.
Some people are dismissing the damage of commuting the death sentences of 37/40 federal death row inmates because they will still be serving life sentences in prison, but it’s important to note 9 of them have committed additional murders while in prison. pic.twitter.com/nkTwAalks7
— AG (@AGHamilton29) December 23, 2024
Moreover, this entirely skirts the larger question of who is truly making these significant decisions.
Contracts, wills, and other legal actions are null and void if a party is mentally incompetent, as Joe Biden obviously is. The Congress and the Trump Department of Justice should investigate whether these pardons for depraved murderers are binding.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) December 23, 2024
Who is making these decisions…
On Monday afternoon, the Trump team, through Communications Director Steven Cheung, released a statement addressing the president’s latest clemency decision.
🚨 BREAKING: Trump team has issued a response to Biden commuting the sentences of 37 inmates on death row.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 23, 2024
"These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones.… pic.twitter.com/96TXuLKlNu
“These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones. President Trump stands for the rule of law, which will return when he is back in the White House after he was elected with a massive mandate from the American people.”
Regardless of one’s stance on the death penalty, the inconsistency and lack of logic in Biden’s decision is undeniably an insult to the victims and families affected by the 37 individuals whose sentences were commuted, adding yet another blemish to the Biden presidency.
