The Three Death Row Prisoners Biden Chose Not to Spare

On Monday, the number of inmates on federal death row dropped from 40 to just three after President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 individuals who had been facing execution.https://wordpress.com/

President Biden explained in a statement that leaving three men on death row aligns with his stance against the death penalty, except in cases related to terrorism or hate-driven mass murder.

This decision also raises the possibility that President-elect Donald J. Trump, who carried out 13 executions during his first term, could oversee the execution of the remaining three men upon returning to office. Additionally, under the Biden administration, the Justice Department is continuing to pursue the death penalty against the individual responsible for the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, in 2022, potentially adding him to the small group still on federal death row.

Here are the individuals who were not granted clemency by President Biden:

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 31, was convicted for his role in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured hundreds more. Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, planted pressure cooker bombs in protest of U.S. military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2015, a federal jury sentenced Tsarnaev to death. While a federal court overturned his sentence in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in 2022. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a police shootout, during which he was also accidentally run over by his brother. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is currently imprisoned at a federal facility in Florence, Colorado.

Dylann Roof, 30, was convicted of committing hate crimes by murdering nine Black churchgoers in a 2015 attack on a Charleston church. A federal jury sentenced Roof to death in 2017. Roof admitted to his crimes and offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, but the government rejected this plea. His defense team has raised concerns about his mental competency and his interactions with his attorneys, but these appeals were dismissed. Roof is currently incarcerated at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the federal death row is located.

Robert Bowers, 52, was convicted for the 2018 massacre of 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Last year, a federal jury sentenced Bowers to death for the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, marking the first death sentence issued during Biden’s administration. Bowers had offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, but the government declined the deal. Armed with an AR-15 and three handguns, Bowers attacked congregants from three synagogues—Tree of Life, New Light, and Dor Hadash—during morning services. While his defense team argued that he suffered from schizophrenia and had a troubled upbringing, prosecutors focused on his premeditated actions and the antisemitic content he posted online. Most victims’ families supported the death penalty, though some were opposed. Bowers is also being held at the Terre Haute facility.