President Joe Biden is reportedly weighing a sweeping decision to commute the sentences of the 40 men currently on federal death row, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Among those potentially affected are some of the most infamous criminals in modern U.S. history, including Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
People “familiar with the matter” revealed to the WSJ that the president is contemplating a broad commutation, converting the death sentences to life imprisonment without parole. While no final decision has been made, insiders suggest Biden could act before Christmas, either through blanket commutation or by selectively sparing some inmates based on the severity of their crimes.
The deliberations underscore a critical and contentious question: Should all federal death sentences be commuted, or should the most heinous offenders remain condemned? A White House spokesperson emphasized that discussions are ongoing, and no conclusions have been reached.
“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,” the WSJ reported.
The timing of these reports coincides with Pope Francis’s recent call for clemency for U.S. death row inmates. In early December, the Pope urged people to pray for those awaiting execution, advocating for their sentences to be commuted.
“Let us #PrayTogether for those on death row in the United States,” Pope Francis posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Let us pray that their sentences may be commuted, changed. Let us think of these brothers and sisters of ours and ask the Lord for the grace to save them from death.”
Pope Francis has long been a vocal opponent of capital punishment. In 2018, he amended the Catechism of the Catholic Church, declaring the death penalty “inadmissible” under any circumstances.
The possibility of commutations for federal death row inmates has drawn swift and sharp criticism from conservatives and victims’ advocacy groups. Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin highlighted the high-profile cases of Roof and Tsarnaev, stating on X, “Charleston church mass shooter Dylann Roof and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are both on federal death row.”
Roof was convicted of killing…
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