News / FJP Releases
FJP Commends President Biden for Historic Commutation of 37 Federal Death Sentences
December 23, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) — Today, President Biden made history by commuting 37 federal death sentences – the largest number of death sentences commuted by any modern president. There are now only three individuals remaining on federal death row, and today’s commutations mean that there are no individuals at imminent risk of federal execution given the appeals process is ongoing in those cases.
The commutations were a major step toward fulfilling President Biden’s 2020 campaign promise of putting an end to the federal death penalty, and the move effectively blocks the incoming Trump Administration from ushering in a new wave of federal executions for political gain.
“The significance of President Biden’s actions today cannot be overstated when it comes to acknowledging the profound moral abomination of the U.S. death penalty regime,” said Amy Fettig, acting Co-Executive Director of Fair and Just Prosecution. “Among developed nations, the United States stands alone in its commitment to a barbaric process that is riddled with errors, heavily biased against people of color, and antithetical to our nation’s highest ideals of compassion, mercy, rehabilitation, and equal justice under the law. It is time for governors in states across the nation to follow President Biden’s lead, commute the death sentences of individuals within their state criminal legal systems, and commit to bringing an end to this barbaric practice once and for all.”
President Biden’s commutations came in response to a well-organized campaign involving hundreds of criminal legal reform organizations; current and former prosecutors, public defenders, and federal judges; leading civil rights experts; faith leaders; and concerned citizens.
This effort included an FJP-organized letter signed by 38 district attorneys, attorneys general, U.S. attorneys, law enforcement officials, and former judges calling on President Biden to commute the federal death row. Altogether, the coalition successfully delivered hundreds of letters to President Biden as well as numerous petitions gathering more than 250,000 signatures from concerned citizens.