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From the Wall Street Journal: President Biden is considering commuting the sentences of most, if not all, of the 40 men on the federal government’s death row, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would frustrate President-elect Donald Trump’s ability to resume the rapid pace of executions that marked his first term.
A broad coalition of religious and civil-rights groups has been pressing Biden to take the step, and the effort gained momentum earlier this month after Pope Francis, in his weekly address, prayed for the commutation of America’s condemned inmates. If their death sentences were commuted, the prisoners, all convicted of murder, would serve life without parole. Biden, a devout Catholic, spoke with Francis on Thursday and is scheduled to meet with him at the Vatican next month, the White House said.
A decision from the president could come by Christmas, some of the people said. A principal question is whether the president should issue a blanket commutation of all the condemned men, or whether death sentences should remain for the most heinous convicts, these people said.
A White House spokesman said that no final decision had been made.
Sources familiar with the matter said Attorney General Merrick Garland, who oversees federal prisons, has recommended that Biden commute all but a handful of the sentences, making exceptions for a few terrorism and hate-crimes cases.
Biden listed abolition of the federal death penalty as one of his campaign talking points in 2020.
Exclusive: President Biden is considering commuting the sentences of most, if not all, of the 40 men on the federal government’s death row https://t.co/5yc32tzo4i
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 20, 2024
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