Donald Trump criticises Joe Biden’s commutation of death row sentences

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized outgoing President Joe Biden for commuting the sentences of nearly all federal prisoners on death row.

Biden, in his final month in office, announced on Monday that he was reducing the death sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The commutations included individuals convicted of serious crimes, such as murdering fellow prisoners, committing murders during bank robberies, and killing a prison guard.

Trump, who is preparing to take over from Biden, condemned the decision, describing it as “reckless” and “a betrayal of justice.”.

READ ALSO: President Biden commutes death sentences of 37 federal inmates

“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media platform.

“When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this,” he added. “Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!”

Biden had imposed a moratorium on the federal death penalty but was under pressure to act further before leaving the White House on January 20, amid signals from Republican Trump that he would resume the practice.

Three men were excluded from the move: one of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers, a gunman who murdered 11 Jewish worshippers in 2018 and a white supremacist who shot nine Black churchgoers dead in 2015.

“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden said Monday.

“But guided by my conscience and my experience… I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”

(AFP)