Biden cheered by Democrats and civil rights groups for commuting dozens of death row sentences
The IndependentSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Civil rights groups who were anxiously preparing for the onset of Donald Trump’s presidency breathed a sigh of relief on Monday as President Joe Biden announced the largest single-day commutation of federal death row inmates in modern history. open image in gallery President Joe Biden announced the commutation of 37 death sentences on Monday, the largest single-day commutation of the federal death row in history. The president’s commutation of death row sentences is likely to be received approvingly by his Democratic base, in contrast to the December 12 announcement of clemency which swept up, among others, a former federal judge convicted of sending children to for-profit jail facilities in exchange for bribes. “By commuting the sentences of 37 individuals on death row, President Biden has taken the most consequential step of any president in our history to address the immoral and unconstitutional harms of capital punishment,” said Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director.