There are 40 men on federal death row, and time is running out for President Biden to commute their sentences and save their lives.

Donald Trump assumes office on January 20. He has made no secret of his plans to resume federal executions soon after, and we know he means what he says. In 2020, he and Attorney General William Barr ordered the execution of 13 people, 12 men and one woman, in just six months. Many of those executed had intellectual disabilities, serious mental illnesses and histories of deep trauma, and their legal proceedings were tainted by racial bias, junk science, and other flaws. Seven of the 13 killed were people of color. In addition, several of the men on federal death row, including those among the 13 who were executed in the last half of 2020, were not the accused killers, and their culpable or equally culpable co-defendants were not sentenced to death.

These men were killed despite calls for mercy from victims’ families and demands for fairness from a broad coalition of Americans across political and faith backgrounds. 

Please sign your name to this petition and join us in urging President Biden to use the authority he has to commute the death sentences of these men and resentence them to life in prison.

By granting commutation, he can honor his commitment to justice reform and secure his legacy as a leader of compassion, equity, and social progress. He can finally make good on his campaign promise to end the federal death penalty and save the lives of 40 men on federal death row.

By signing this petition, you are telling President Biden that our country cannot afford to uphold a costly, ineffective system that risks innocent lives and deepens racial injustice.

 Thank you.