Statement: Dream.Org Applauds President Biden’s Move to Commute Nearly All Federal Death Sentences

Following President Biden’s move to commute nearly 1,500 sentences and pardon 39 Americans with nonviolent crimes, today the President has announced that 37 people serving federal death penalty sentences will now be able to serve life sentences without the possibility of parole.

In response to this historic moment in criminal justice reform, Dream.Org Chief Advocacy Officer Janos Marton issued the following statement:

“We commend President Biden for taking another step to fulfill his commitment to a fairer and more effective justice system by removing nearly all of the current federal death penalty sentences. We applaud all of the organizations and advocates across the country who have remained steadfast over the years to commute the row. 

We also recognize that there are many others who could not make it to see this day, like Marcellus “Khalifah” Williams who was executed by the state of Missouri despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. America’s excessive use of the death penalty must stop. Rehabilitation and due process must be put at the center of our criminal justice system.

As Dream.Org has highlighted before, there are still thousands of people serving extremely long sentences for drug crimes that have done their time and deserve to be back home with their families. Many of these cases have been reviewed and ready for presidential commutation for years. We urge President Biden to continue this progress for America’s criminal justice system and take on these cases.”

ABOUT DREAM.ORG

At Dream.Org, we dream of a world beyond mass incarceration. We build communities with fewer prisons, safer neighborhoods, and transformed lives. We bring people together across racial, social, and partisan lines to create a future with freedom, dignity and opportunity for all.