Boston Marathon bomber excluded from Biden's death row commutations

President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of nearly every man on federal death row, but Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was not included on the list. The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities.It means just three federal inmates are still facing execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history.Biden’s administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions and said Monday that his commutations will prevent President-elect Donald Trump’s administration “from carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice.”Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has spoken frequently of expanding executions. In a speech announcing his 2024 campaign, Trump called for those “caught selling drugs to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts.” He later promised to execute drug and human smugglers and even praised China’s harsher treatment of drug peddlers. During his first term as president, Trump also advocated for the death penalty for drug dealers.There were 13 federal executions during Trump’s first term, more than under any president in modern history, and some may have happened fast enough to have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus at the federal death row facility in Indiana.“I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” Biden said in a statement. “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole. These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”The president’s announcement also comes less than two weeks after he commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, and of 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes, the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.The announcement also followed the post-election pardon that Biden granted his son Hunter on federal gun and tax charges after long saying he would not issue one, sparking an uproar in Washington. The pardon also raised questions about whether he would issue sweeping preemptive pardons for administration officials and other allies who the White House worries could be unjustly targeted by Trump’s second administration.”The President’s criminal justice record has transformed individual lives and positively impacted communities, especially historically marginalized communities,” a White House statement said. “In the coming weeks, the President will take additional steps to provide meaningful second chances and continue to review additional pardons and commutations.”List of commuted sentences: Shannon Wayne AgofskyBillie Jerome AllenAquilia Marcivicci BarnetteBrandon Leon BashamAnthony George BattleMeier Jason BrownCarlos David CaroWesley Paul Coonce, Jr.Brandon Michael CouncilChristopher Emory CramerLen DavisJoseph EbronRicky Allen FackrellEdward Leon Fields, Jr.Chadrick Evan FulksMarvin Charles Gabrion, IIEdgar Baltazar GarciaThomas Morocco HagerCharles Michael HallNorris G. HolderRichard Allen JacksonJurijus KadamovasDaryl LawrenceIouri MikhelRonald MikosJames H. Roane, Jr.Julius Omar RobinsonDavid Anthony RunyonRicardo Sanchez, Jr.Thomas Steven SandersKaboni SavageMark Isaac SnarrRejon TaylorRichard TiptonJorge Avila TorrezDaniel TroyaAlejandro Enrique Ramirez UmañaThe Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of nearly every man on federal death row, but Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was not included on the list.

The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities.

It means just three federal inmates are still facing execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history.

Biden’s administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions and said Monday that his commutations will prevent President-elect Donald Trump’s administration “from carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice.”

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has spoken frequently of expanding executions. In a speech announcing his 2024 campaign, Trump called for those “caught selling drugs to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts.” He later promised to execute drug and human smugglers and even praised China’s harsher treatment of drug peddlers. During his first term as president, Trump also advocated for the death penalty for drug dealers.

There were 13 federal executions during Trump’s first term, more than under any president in modern history, and some may have happened fast enough to have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus at the federal death row facility in Indiana.

“I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” Biden said in a statement. “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole. These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”

The president’s announcement also comes less than two weeks after he commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, and of 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes, the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.

The announcement also followed the post-election pardon that Biden granted his son Hunter on federal gun and tax charges after long saying he would not issue one, sparking an uproar in Washington. The pardon also raised questions about whether he would issue sweeping preemptive pardons for administration officials and other allies who the White House worries could be unjustly targeted by Trump’s second administration.

“The President’s criminal justice record has transformed individual lives and positively impacted communities, especially historically marginalized communities,” a White House statement said. “In the coming weeks, the President will take additional steps to provide meaningful second chances and continue to review additional pardons and commutations.”

List of commuted sentences: