In a surprising turn, the outgoing President of the United States (US), Joe Biden, on Monday, announced the reduction of death sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row.
New Telegraph gathered that three men were excluded from the move: one of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers, a gunman who murdered 11 Jewish worshippers in 2018, and a white supremacist who killed nine Black churchgoers in 2015
Recall that Biden imposed a suspension on the federal death penalty but was under pressure to act further before leaving the White House on January 20, amid signals from Donald Trump that he would resume the practice.
Also, those who had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole included nine people convicted of murdering fellow prisoners, four for murders committed during bank robberies, and one who killed a prison guard.
Biden stated, “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.
“But guided by my conscience and my experience… 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.”
Reacting to the development, Trump communications director Steven Cheung in a statement slammed what he cited as an “abhorrent” decision.
“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,” he stated
