President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment mere weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. In a statement issued Monday, Biden says, “These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. In a reference to Trump, who campaigned on expanding the use of capital punishment, Biden adds, "In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”
