US Catholic leaders urge Biden to commute entire Death Row

Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), the leading faith-based organization working to end US capital punishment and promote the healing practices of restorative justice, publicly released a letter today that was sent on 20 November to President Joe Biden - a fellow Catholic - urging him to "act in the spirit of mercy and the kind of justice that upholds the dignity of all life, no matter the harm one has caused or suffered, to commute the sentences of all 40 men currently on federal death row."

"As Catholics, we understand that every person is made in the image of God and that our Heavenly Father does not shut the door on anyone," Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, CMN executive director, and Sr Rita Ann Teichman, CSJ, chair of the CMN board of directors, wrote in the letter. "By commuting these sentences, you could use your constitutional authority in a way that would mirror the spirit of reconciliation during this special Jubilee 2025 year."

This letter was made public hours after Pope Francis called for commutations of the death penalty in the United States during his Sunday Angelus in St Peter's Square. "Today, I feel compelled to ask all of you to pray for the inmates on death row in the United States," the Pope said. "Let us pray that their sentences may be commuted or changed."

Today, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a nationwide advocacy action publicly for all Catholics, reiterating that "President Biden has an extraordinary opportunity to advance the cause of human dignity by commuting all federal death sentences to terms of imprisonment and sparing the lives of the 40 men currently on federal death row."

The CMN letter and the appeals by Pope Francis and USCCB come as the worldwide Catholic Church prepares to celebrate Jubilee 2025 and during the waning days of President Biden's time in office, when presidents often consider acts of clemency. Pope Francis has called for Jubilee 2025 to be a time of forgiveness and reconciliation, and made a special plea for "the abolition of the death penalty, a provision at odds with Christian faith and one that eliminates all hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation." With the theme "Pilgrims of Hope," Jubilee 2025 officially begins on Dec. 24, when Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of the Basilica of St Peter in Rome before presiding over Mass. Two days later, he will visit Rebibbia prison on the outskirts of Rome to open a Holy Door there as a "tangible sign of the message of hope" for people in prisons around the world.

"Jubilee 2025 should have particular relevance for a president whose Catholic faith is important to him, as it emphasizes a time to rebalance and recommit to justice and mercy," said Vaillancourt Murphy, who represents a national network of more than 30,000 advocates that includes Catholic bishops, dioceses, state Catholic conferences, religious communities, members of the laity, and others from across the United States.

CMN has engaged nearly 5,000 people, including Catholic leaders from across the country, to sign its petition for President Biden to commute the federal death row. "We are delighted to see the groundswell of support for federal death row commutations and have been encouraged by the support of this campaign at the highest levels of the Church. The time is ripe," said Vaillancourt Murphy.

Decades in the Making: Catholic Leadership and Teaching on Ending the Death Penalty

In 2005, USCCB published "A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death," a powerful call for the abolition of the death penalty, aligning with the teachings of St Pope John Paul II. In 2018, Pope Francis updated the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), a summary of Catholic teaching, to make it clear that the death penalty is "inadmissible" in all cases. Pope Francis asserts the Church's opposition to the death penalty on the basis of human dignity, which he said is not lost even when a person commits a serious crime. CMN works to amplify this teaching.

Presidential Transition: An Urgent National Moment

President Biden is the first president to oppose capital punishment publicly. He campaigned on an anti-death penalty platform, and on Jul. 1, 2021, Biden's Department of Justice ordered an official moratorium on federal executions. Though a positive step, it does not prevent future administrations from reversing or even initiating an execution spree.

"The president-elect has a sordid history of executions and has stated his intention to expand and expedite them when he returns to office, making this an urgent national moment," said Vaillancourt Murphy. "The clock is ticking for 40 lives. President Biden should exercise his constitutional authority now to offer clemency to each person on federal death row."

"If President Biden takes this step, it will reverberate not only in the United States but around the globe," said Vaillancourt Murphy. "The Jubilee year is the perfect time for our Catholic president to make this historic move."

Headquartered in Washington, DC, Catholic Mobilizing Network is a national US organization that mobilizes Catholics and people of goodwill to end the death penalty, advance justice solutions in alignment with Catholic values and promote healing through restorative justice approaches and practices. For more information, visit: www.catholicsmobilizing.org.