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As the first president in American history to publicly oppose capital punishment, Joe Biden came into office with many hoping that he would take some action on his stated stance. Of course, he could not unilaterally repeal the federal death penalty, nor could he end capital punishment administered by the states, but there was much for him to do coming into office to curb the death penalty’s usage in our country. After all, he promised during his campaign to stop federal executions, propose legislation to abolish federal capital punishment, and provide incentives for the states to do so. This was notable as it was a 180-degree pivot from his former stance as the author of the 1994 crime bill.

There is good reason for wanting to end the practice, too. Support for the practice is at near-historic lows, with about 55% of Americans supporting it. International groups like Amnesty International have urged Biden to act upon his campaign pledge. And unsurprisingly, minorities are disproportionately represented on death row.

So now almost three years into his presidency, what steps has President Biden taken to try and limit or end capital punishment? Seemingly, very little. To his credit, he did instruct Attorney General Merrick Garland to impose a moratorium on federal executions for the time being. But this move does little besides maintain the status quo for federal death row inmates. If the moratorium ends, either during this administration or another, federal death row prisoners would once again be subject to execution. The Justice Department also reversed course in 25 cases in which it had previously planned to pursue a death sentence under the former administration.

Unfortunately, the Biden administration is going in the wrong direction. Convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is appealing his death sentence, and Biden’s Justice Department is actively opposing the effort. But not only is Biden’s Justice Department fighting convictions already sustained, it is shockingly pursuing new death sentences, including the case of Sayfullo Saipov, who killed eight people on a New York City bike path in 2017.

While his power is limited, President Biden can still do a lot to fulfill his campaign pledge. It is unlikely to succeed in the current Congress, but raising a bill in the House and Senate can at least get a discussion started, and the President’s backing would likely go a long way. He can also issue an executive order to dismantle the federal government’s only execution chamber in Terre Haute, Indiana. While this could be reversed later in theory, it would at least be a step in the right direction.

Most notably, however, is one step Biden can take with the simple stroke of a pen. He can commute the sentences of the remaining 42 prisoners on federal death row to sentences of life in prison, with no possibility of parole. This relief would not only be instant and effective, but it would be final. Given that the time elapsed between sentencing defendants to death and the execution being carried out is approximately 20 years, it is likely that no federal executions would occur for many years, giving the Congress ample time to finally do away with the punishment.

 

Suggested Citation: Jared Feltman, Say It Ain’t So, Joe! Biden Turning His Back on Campaign Pledge to Fight Against Death Penalty, Cornell J.L. & Pub. Pol’y, The Issue Spotter (October 30, 2023), http://jlpp.org/blogzine/say-it-ain’t-so-joe-biden-turning-his-back-on-campaign-pledge-to-fight-against-death-penalty/.