In response to the announcement from the Biden administration that 37 men currently on federal death row will have their sentences commuted, Paul O’Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA made the following statement:
“We applaud President Biden for commuting the death sentences of 37 men currently on federal death row and removing the threat of execution in their cases once and for all. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and President Biden’s eleventh-hour decision before leaving office to commute these death sentences is a big moment for human rights.
“The President’s decision is a significant step towards his 2020 promise to end the death penalty at the federal level and incentivize states to follow suit. No federal executions took place during Biden’s presidency. It is near certain that Donald Trump will re-start the federal killing machine where he left off, and we remain concerned about the human rights of those who are still on federal and military death row. During his first administration, Donald Trump was the first President in 17 years to implement federal death sentences, overseeing 13 executions in the last 6 months of his term.
“Human rights advocates have been asking President Biden to take action against the death penalty, and his decision to commute these 37 death sentences shows that he was listening. Amnesty International members have worked alongside partners and other advocates including lawmakers who have been urging President Biden to make this historical decision. We have highlighted in particular the case of Billie Allen, and we welcome that he is among those who will no longer face execution.
“While this is a big win for human rights and the 37 men who have had their death sentences commuted, the death penalty is never the answer. It is disappointing that President Biden did not commute all sentences of those on federal and military death row. We urge President Biden to go further and commute all existing death sentences.
“Close to three quarters of the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice. The death penalty is still a lawful punishment in 27 states in the U.S., and a handful of those continue to execute people every year, giving the U.S. the notorious position of being one of the top countries in the world to use the death penalty. It is high time to end this cruel practice everywhere in the United States and beyond.”
Additional information:
- As one of its five asks to President Biden before he leaves office, Amnesty International USA asked him to commute the sentences of people on military and federal death row.
- Amnesty International has collected nearly 100,000 signatures urging President Biden to commute Billie Allen’s death sentence along with all the others on federal and military death row.
- Earlier in December, Amnesty International USA was one of 130 civil and human rights organizations calling on President Biden to commute federal death sentences.
- Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally, in all cases and under any circumstances.
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