Biden Faces Calls to Commute Federal Death Sentences Before Trump Administration Resumes Executions

Advocates urge President Biden to act on clemency promises, citing his recent pardon of his son and the looming return of federal executions under Donald Trump.

• President Biden is being urged to commute the sentences of 40 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment before leaving office, as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House.
• Advocacy groups, religious leaders, and legal experts stress that Biden has the constitutional authority to act and emphasize systemic issues like racial bias and geographic disparities in death penalty cases.
• Biden's recent pardon of his son, Hunter, has drawn criticism for not extending clemency efforts to other federal inmates, including marijuana offenders and victims of abuse in federal prisons.
• The Department of Justice imposed a moratorium on federal executions in 2021 but has continued to defend death sentences in court, leaving Biden's campaign promise to end the federal death penalty unfulfilled.
• Letters from groups including the ACLU and Pope Francis have urged Biden to take decisive action, framing it as a legacy-defining moment to prevent future executions and promote justice and mercy.

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