Dozens of prominent civil rights groups in the United States are urging US President Joe Biden to reimpose a moratorium on federal executions, saying the practice has disproportionally targeted Black people.
In an open letter on Tuesday, the organisations also called on the Biden administration to commute the sentences of the 49 inmates currently on federal death row.
“[W]e write to urge you to act on your promise of ensuring equality, equity, and justice in our criminal legal system by immediately commuting the sentences of all individuals under federal sentence of death, and reinstating the federal moratorium on the use of the death penalty,” the letter reads.
Those individuals could be released through an executive order, the ACLU said.
“The American public, voters, and most importantly, incarcerated people and their families were encouraged by President Biden’s commitment to reduce our country’s prison population significantly. Now that he is in office, the president has the opportunity to act on this commitment and correct the harms created by decades of racist policies that have led to the unjust and disproportionate incarceration of Black and Brown people by using his executive power to grant clemency to thousands of people,” said Cynthia Roseberry, deputy director of the ACLU’s Justice Division.
Since June 28, 2004
January 28, 2021
ACLU urging Prez Biden to use his clemency powers to bring home 25,000 people from federal prisons
In this post yesterday reviewing commentary on former Prez Trump s use of the clemency power, I mentioned that on this front I am always more eager to look forward than look back. Consequently, I am pleased to see that via this press release that the ACLU is looking forward and pressing the new President to use his clemency powers boldly. Here are excerpts:
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a slate of executive orders on racial justice. Notably missing was any executive action to boldly use his power of clemency. Today, the American Civil Liberties Union launched a six-figure advertising buy asking President Biden to honor his commitment to significant decarceration by immediately using his clemency authority to help tens of thousands of people in federal prison who could be safely released immediately.