Washington, DC (November 22, 2024) -- The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), along with several other leading criminal legal defense and human rights organizations, is urging President Biden to use his executive power to commute all federal death sentences, sparing some 40 lives by changing their sentences to life without parole. Such a move would adhere to a Biden campaign pledge to end the federal death penalty.
"The death penalty is a fundamentally flawed system riddled with racial bias, risk of error, and no proven deterrent effect," said Lisa Wayne, Executive Director of NACDL. "We implore President Biden to fulfill his campaign promise and take decisive action to renounce this draconian practice at the federal level."
The letter, co-signed by the Black Public Defender Association, Gideon’s Promise, National Association for Public Defense, National Legal Aid and Defender Association, and Southern Center for Human Rights, highlights the growing opposition to the death penalty in the United States. It cites data showing disproportionate application against minorities and the poor, as well as a lack of deterrent effect on crime.
The organizations also point to the increasing isolation of the United States on the world stage as more countries abandon capital punishment. They urge President Biden to act before the incoming administration resumes executions.
"This President can exercise compassion coupled with his extraordinary power in commuting all federal death sentences to life sentences," concluded Wayne. "President Biden has the opportunity to cement his legacy as a leader committed to human rights and justice."
Read the letter: https://www.nacdl.org/Document/LetterBidenCommuteFederalDeathSentences-11222024
