Federal death row [26]: 1 Dec 23, 2024 · President Joe Biden spared the lives of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row before passing the torch to President-elect Donald Trump. federal death penalty laws in 2020, and historical trends in executions. 1995 March Nov 7, 2024 · A protester opposes the death penalty near the Federal Correctional Complex on July 13, 2020, in Terre Haute, Indiana. Clemency Note: On December 23, 2024, President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row prisoners to sentences of life without parole. The remaining three men, whose crimes included mass killings and acts of Dec 23, 2024 · The number of prisoners on federal death row shrank from 40 to just three on Monday after President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men who had been facing the death penalty. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday announced that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just Federal death row, like state rows and the military row, is a single jurisdiction with its own unique features. “The reality is all of these crimes are typically Dec 23, 2024 · Three men still remain on federal death row after President Joe Biden issued sweeping commutations Monday to the sentences of 37 other prisoners who were awaiting execution. The convictions or death sentences of 240 death-row prisoners had been reversed pending retrial, resentencing, or completion of the appeals process, meaning 2, 380 prisoners were facing active death sentences, a decrease of 27 over the previous quarter, and down 74 (3. Commuting the federal row is the way he can honor that commitment, and prevent irreversible miscarriages of justice. m. The 37 inmates impacted by the Federal Death Penalty April 21, 2025 A. C. §§ 3591 to 3599. The Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to serve the media, policymakers, and the general public… The jury recommended, and a federal district court imposed, the death penalty on six of 17 capital counts. However, factors such as geography, race, and legal representation influence who receives death sentences as much as the underlying crimes. ” Jan 22, 2025 · Among the slew of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office, he signed one order calling to reinstate the death penalty for federal death row inmates. During its first White House stint, the Trump administration carried out 13 federal executions, ending a 17-year hiatus. Trump directed the attorney general to pursue federal jurisdiction and seek the death penalty “regardless of other factors” when the case involves the killing of a law enforcement officer or FILE - This Aug. Dec 9, 2024 · And after spending five years on federal death row for killing a fellow inmate in the mental health ward at a medical center for federal prisoners in Missouri, he’s hungry for more education and Nov 12, 2024 · There are 40 men on federal death row who have been convicted of capital offenses by the federal government going back as far as 1993. Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 38% of federal death row inmates are Black -- compared to the 14% of total American population according to the Pew Research Center. “ DEATH ROW USA ” (As of January 1 Dec 23, 2024 · Their death sentences will be reduced to life without the possibility of parole, sparing each of the 37 men from the highly controversial practice of the death penalty. ” Margaret Huang, president and CEO, The Southern Poverty Law Center: “The death penalty is rooted in a deep history of racialized violence. However . In an unprecedented move, President Joe Biden commutes nearly all federal death sentences. Three people were killed and scores more were injured during the attack. There are currently 40 people on federal death row Dec 23, 2024 · Biden commutes death row sentences in Georgia. Editor's note: This story includes information that may be upsetting to some readers. Source: Death Row Population Figures from NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. The federal government chose Terre Haute (In this table, the total of inmates on death row will be slightly higher than the national total of 2, 241 because some inmates were sentenced to death in more than one state and hence will be counted twice. She was executed by lethal injection at USP Terre Haute, IN on January 13, 2021. Allen was convicted of murdering a security guard during a bank robbery Sep 1, 2023 · The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the housing and execution of federal death row prisoners. The U. By commuting all pending death sentences to sentences of life imprisonment, President Biden can use […] Apr 16, 2025 · According to the Death Penalty Information Center, “The federal death penalty applies in all 50 states and U. Had the death penalty as of December 31, 2020 but Dec 23, 2024 · The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that tracks capital punishment information, lists inmates sentenced to federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana. Biden's decision is Only three defendants remain on federal death row after Democratic President Joe Biden recently converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison. It provides data on which jurisdictions have the death penalty, which jurisdictions carried out an execution in 2021, and which methods of execution are authorized Apr 17, 2025 · The killer had been sentenced to death row by a federal jury in Louisiana in September 2014 after a four-year trial. Dec 23, 2024 · WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before President-elect Thirteen federal death row inmates were executed, all under Trump. Death penalty opponents have called on President Joe Biden to commute the Dec 24, 2024 · Why Biden didn't commute 3 federal death row sentences 02:49. He's converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. A Washington Post examination this year found that there are Dec 23, 2024 · Billie Allen, who had been on federal death row for 27 years, said he felt "great relief" after Biden commuted his sentence. Biden did not pardon the murderers, but rather Thirteen federal death row inmates were executed, all under Trump. Biden's move is likely motivated Dec 24, 2024 · Before Biden's commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states. On December 31, 2022, 30 states and the federal government had death penalty statutes. Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut Dec 18, 2024 · The issue of extensive time on death row presents a dilemma: If death penalty appeals are rushed through the system, it might lessen the time spent on death row, but more innocent people will be executed and grave injustices will remain undiscovered and uncorrected. Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, died by lethal Dec 9, 2024 · And after spending five years on federal death row for killing a fellow inmate in the mental health ward at a medical center for federal prisoners in Missouri, he’s hungry for more education and Apr 11, 2025 · The federal death penalty is in all 50 states and U. 49 prisoners are currently on federal death row, most of whom are imprisoned in Terre Haute, Indiana. Penitentiary Terre Before Biden's commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states. About 50 prisoners are on the federal death row, most of whom are imprisoned in Terre Haute , Indiana. Dec 23, 2024 · President Biden has commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row who will stay in prison for life but will not be subject to executions. [6] There are currently three men on federal death row. Inmates on federal death row tell The Associated Press that a leading topic of conversation through airducts they use to communicate is whether President Joe Biden will keep a campaign pledge to halt federal executions. Dec 10, 2024 · President Joe Biden is facing growing calls to use his clemency power to commute the sentences of the 40 men on federal death row before he leaves office. The last and most recent federal execution was of Dustin Higgs, who was executed on January 16, 2021. [1] The number of death row inmates changes frequently with new convictions, appellate decisions overturning conviction or sentence alone, commutations, or deaths (through execution or otherwise). At yearend 2020, a total of 31 states and the federal government authorized the death penalty (map 1). The move reduces the sentence for all but three of the 40 inmates on federal death row. As of January 1, 2025, there were 2,092 death row inmates in the United States, including 46 women. SOURCE: Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel, Statutes; Bureau of Justice Statistics: Capital Punishment 2012. He was executed by lethal injection at USP Terre Haute, IN on December 11, 2020. ) Source: Death Row Population Figures from NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Nov 17, 2023 · This report presents statistics on prisoners who were under sentence of death in 2021, a summary of state and federal death penalty laws in 2021, and historical trends in executions. How it is applied is decided by a The 37 men spared execution by Biden were on federal death row for slayings of military service members, a police officer, a prison guard, a postal worker, fellow prisoners and people on federal Educate yourself about the federal death penalty-The federal death penalty applies in all 50 states and U. While it imposed a moratorium on executions, the Justice Department continued Dec 24, 2024 · President Joe Biden’s announcement that he’s taking 37 people off federal death row resulted in praise from some families and deep disappointment from others. Dec 24, 2024 · With Biden’s historic decision to commute 37 death sentences in the books, criminal justice experts will be watching closely for the Trump administration’s approach to federal death row policy Dec 9, 2024 · A coalition of District Attorneys, Attorneys General, law enforcement officials, former judges, U. President Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row, the White House said in a statement. The men will continue to serve life imprisonment without the possibility of Feb 18, 2021 · BJS collects data on persons under sentence of death and executed in the United States. Among the death row prisoners who had their sentences commuted and will now face life in prison: Thomas Steven Sanders, sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old girl in List of death row inmates in the United States; List of juveniles executed in the United States since 1976; List of most recent executions by jurisdiction; List of people executed in the United States in 2025; List of people executed in Texas, 2020–present; List of women executed in the United States since 1976 Dec 23, 2024 · President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 inmates on federal death row, the White House said Monday. MAP 1. The federal death row’s makeup reflects the larger inequities and cruelties of the U. Three men remain on federal death row: Robert Bowers, convicted in the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh Dec 30, 2024 · At yearend 2022, a total of 26 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons held 2,270 prisoners under sentence of death, which was 86 (4%) fewer than at yearend 2021. The Jan 12, 2021 · Updated at 2:14 a. territories but is used relatively rarely compared to the use of capital punishment by states. Jan 19, 2025 · Two federal death row inmates are asking to be exempted from outgoing President Joe Biden’s order commuting their sentences to life in prison without parole, as they seek to appeal their cases Jan 6, 2025 · Robin Maher, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, added that the vast majority of inmates on federal death row were grateful for Biden's decision, "which is were under sentence of death in 2020, state and . [7] [8] Two of them are housed at USP Terre Haute. S. Jan 7, 2025 · The three federal death row inmates who were not granted clemency were Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted in the 2013 Boston marathon bombing; Dylann Roof, who was found guilty in the 2017 mass Dec 23, 2024 · Trump has said he would seek to expand the death penalty in his second term. [24] [25] In April 2022, 2,414 people were on federal or state death row. Constitution grants the Dec 23, 2024 · Three men still remain on federal death row after President Joe Biden issued sweeping commutations Monday to the sentences of 37 other prisoners who were awaiting execution. Prior to the Trump Administration, only three federal executions had been carried out in the Mar 3, 2025 · The position was in keeping with the Biden administration's opposition to the death penalty, a stance that led the administration to commute the sentences of almost all federal death row inmates. reside on state death rows in state prisons across 29 states, while federal death row inmates reside in various federal prisons and are sent to U. The outgoing president in December commuted the sentences of The White House said that Biden believes the death penalty at the federal level "must stop," except for people found guilty of terrorism and mass murder motivated by hate. Jan 20, 2025 · And on December 23, 2024, President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 most vile and sadistic rapists, child molesters, and murderers on Federal death row: remorseless criminals who Dec 10, 2024 · Biden campaigned in 2020 on ending the federal death penalty, but once in office that promise was quickly forgotten. Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut Dec 10, 2024 · The federal government can seek death sentences for certain federal crimes in any state. Lawsuit Seeks to Prevent Transfer of Former Federally Death-Sentenced Prisoners to “Supermax” Prison Religion April 22, 2025 Pope Francis, Responsible for Catholic Church’s Anti-Death Penalty Teachings, Dies at 88 Alfred Bourgeois was sentenced to death for multiple offenses, including murder. * Figures include persons whose death sentences have been overturned but who still face the possibility of being re-sentenced to death after a new trial or new sentencing hearing. [2] Learn about the federal death penalty, which applies in all 50 states and U. Biden did not pardon the murderers, but rather Dec 23, 2024 · President Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of nearly all prisoners on federal death row, sparing the lives of 37 men just a month before Donald J. President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row. Thirty-seven out of the 40 inmates on death row will now Dec 19, 2024 · New Death Sentences The number of new death sentences in 2024 increased from 2023, and the number of people on death row continued its decades-long decline. territories but is used rarely. [23] On July 1, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland imposed a moratorium on federal executions. Find out the latest news, developments, and history of the federal death penalty, as well as the current status of the federal death row. Roane Jr. Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis Nov 14, 2024 · “The death penalty is a morally-bankrupt and inescapably racist institution. Most death row inmates in the U. The only way to guarantee Dec 23, 2024 · Biden commutes sentences of federal death row inmates, ‘striking blow’ to system that has ‘always targeted Black people’ This historic action is consistent with Biden's efforts to abolish Jan 22, 2025 · The renewed use of the death penalty, announced by an executive order signed on his first day in office, comes shortly after former President Joe Biden and his Department of Justice moved to restrict the federal death penalty. The Federal Death Penalty Act and related provisions govern the procedures for imposing the death penalty. FBI. territories but is used relatively rarely. Dec 23, 2024 · President Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row, the White House said in a statement. States with and without death penalty statutes, yearend 2020. According to the White House, the individuals will have their Three inmates will remain on federal death row: Dylann Roof, convicted of the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; the 2013 Boston The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that tracks capital punishment information, lists inmates sentenced to federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana. 26, 2020 file photo shows the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind. Robert Bowers, Dylann Roof, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were the only three prisoners to not have their sentences commuted. “ DEATH ROW USA ” (As of July 1, 2024). About 56% of Jan 16, 2025 · Three and a half years after announcing its investigation into the federal death penalty protocol, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on January 15, 2025 that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is rescinding the federal government’s single-drug pentobarbital lethal injection protocol. Each federal death penalty case is authorized by the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) in Washington, DC , in consultation with local United States Attorney Offices. Biden's decision is Dec 12, 2024 · A coalition of death penalty opponents is asking Biden to "commute all federal death sentences to life without parole," said The Washington Post. According to the White House, the individuals will have their Higgs’s case was the third death penalty prosecution in Maryland since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988, but marked the first time a jury imposed the death penalty. Attorneys and other criminal justice leaders, submitted a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to commute the sentences of all individuals currently on federal death row. Supreme Court The United States Supreme Court has largely abandoned the critical role it has historically played in regulating and limiting use of the Convicted for his participation in a series of drug-related killings. L. – were similarly condemned to federal death row but their death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment upon receiving clemency from outgoing President Joe Biden in 2024. U. Two of Johnson's accomplices – Richard Tipton and James H. See reports, tables, and data collections on death row, executions, and characteristics of offenders. The offenses committed by federal death row inmates include Dec 9, 2024 · Commuting the sentences of the 40 individuals on federal death row is an unprecedented opportunity for President Biden to cement his commitment to remedying injustice by exercising executive clemency. Two months into their relationship, Sanders, Suellen and Lexis took a trip President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is taking 37 people off federal death row to serve out life sentences behind bars — a decision that leaves only three federal prisoners awaiting The jury recommended, and a federal district court imposed, the death penalty on six of 17 capital counts. justice system. Although not listed by BJS , the following offenses are also punishable by death under the federal statute, though it is not clear that the death penalty would be constitutional for these offenses under Dec 23, 2024 · The federal death penalty population accounts for a relatively small share of the people sentenced to death throughout the country. President Biden came into office committing to abolishing the federal death penalty because of its fundamental flaws. 01/13/2021: Lisa Montgomery was sentenced to death for federal kidnapping resulting in death. Dec 10, 2024 · On the media call, Stubbs said Project 2025 articulates a “promise to try to kill everyone on death row. On July 13, 1999, the Special Confinement Unit at USP Terre Haute opened, and the BOP transferred male federal death row inmates from other federal prisons and from state prisons to USP Terre Haute. . Dec 23, 2024 · President Biden announced on Monday that he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row. The death penalty procedures introduced by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, codified in Title 21, were repealed on March 6, 2006, when President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. org, Biden is commuting 37 men sentenced to death, reclassifying their sentences to life without the possibility of parole. ” She said the only way to protect the lives of people on death row is to commute their sentences. Washington — President Biden on Monday announced he had commuted the sentences of nearly all federal inmates on death row, with the Dec 23, 2024 · Of the 40 inmates on federal death row, according to DeathPenaltyInfo. . Meanwhile, three other men — Robert Bowers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Dylann Roof — who were all convicted of charges related to terrorism or mass murder, will remain on federal death President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of almost all prisoners on federal death row, a move he said was consistent with the moratorium his administration has imposed on federal executions. ET Wednesday. Dec 23, 2024 · The other two inmates left on federal death row are Robert Bowers, who conducted a mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was involved in the 2013 Boston Marathon Nov 27, 2024 · Along with his repeated vows to expand the death penalty, the road map laid out in Project 2025 includes “finality” for the remaining 40 people on federal death row. Between 1988 — when the modern federal death penalty was instituted — and the 2021 moratorium, nearly half of all The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that tracks capital punishment information, lists inmates sentenced to federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana. The United States Constitution defines the circumstances under which the death penalty may be considered a sentencing option. 01/14/2021 Dec 23, 2024 · President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is taking 37 people off federal death row to serve out life sentences behind bars — a decision that leaves only three federal prisoners awaiting Joe Biden made history on Monday and commuted the sentence of nearly everyone on federal death row to life in prison without parole, sparing 37 people from the execution chamber. 0 %) from the 2, 454 prisoners fac Opponents of the death penalty had pushed Biden to empty death row, fearing Trump would restart federal executions upon retaking office. Louis Jones Jr. Find out how the federal government imposes and carries out capital punishment, and why it is rare and controversial. Learn about the history, crimes, and status of the 40 offenders on federal death row in the U. Trump will return to the Oval Office with a Dec 23, 2024 · WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before President-elect Jan 7, 2025 · Two convicted murderers spared from execution by President Biden’s controversial clemency last month have asked a federal court to let them stay on death row. “The reality is all of these crimes are typically Dec 1, 2020 · This Insight focuses on federal death penalty policy in the context of death penalty practice in the country overall. In the final weeks of his presidency, Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on death row. Apr 17, 2025 · A Louisiana federal jury convicted Thomas Sanders, now 67, of kidnapping and murdering Las Vegas 12-year-old Lexis Roberts in 2010 and sentenced him to death — the first death penalty imposed in Dec 23, 2024 · Biden said 37 of the 40 people on federal death row will serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Dec 23, 2024 · This combination photo shows federal death row inmates Robert Bowers, from left, the gunman who massacred 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, Dylann Roof, who commited racist P resident Joe Biden is facing growing pressure to commute the sentences of the more than three dozen inmates sitting on federal death row before President-elect Donald Trump, a death penalty Federal death penalty procedure is based on the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994, codified at 18 U. Dec 23, 2024 · President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment mere weeks before President Dec 26, 2024 · Durbin has long advocated for the abolition of the federal death penalty. kutmxicwyafskrcxgrppyjjtxtpgscowovytyyqotechnxwmnusxjklcldluruwvftyymxaouym