WASHINGTON, D.C. – FWD.us Executive Director Zoë Towns issued the following statement today after President Biden’s historic commutations of federal death sentences:
“We join those celebrating President Biden’s commutation of 37 federal death sentences and his continued commitment to fairness and racial justice. The application of the death penalty cannot be defended on public safety grounds and is plagued by racial bias, systemic flaws, and errors that undermine the entire criminal justice system. Today’s commutations make good on a promise to begin to confront these injustices.
“While we commend this historic action, the need to commute the sentences of people currently in prison is urgent. Time is running out for the thousands of people serving outdated sentences, many of whom have been thoroughly vetted and recommended for clemency by the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice.
“As President Biden continues to prioritize clemency in his final weeks, we urge him to extend his clemency actions to commute federal sentences and bring people in prison home—especially those serving disproportionately long and racially disparate sentences that would be shorter under today’s laws and policies. Many are serving life or de facto life sentences. Clemency remains their last, best chance to come home. We are grateful for the President’s use of his clemency power and urge him to continue taking bold action in his final weeks to ensure people in prisons can come home.”
Additional Resources
- FWD.us Clemency TV Ad “One More Chance”
- Clemency Primer: With the Stroke of a Pen: A Primer on Presidential Clemency
- Clemency Poll Memo: New Polling Shows Strong National Support for Reducing Incarceration and Expanding Clemency
- Federal Prison Population Fact Sheet with the NAACP: The Federal Prison Population Is at an Inflection Point
- Clemency & Advancing Public Safety Brief: The Case for Clemency: Reducing Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences and Advancing Public Safety
- Clemency 1-Pager: Seizing the Moment: President Biden’s Opportunity to Take Bold Clemency Action
