President Biden has commuted the sentences of nearly all federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without parole, a decision announced just two weeks after his record-breaking clemency grant. This action affects 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org.

The three inmates excluded from this commutation are Robert Bowers, responsible for the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting; Dylann Roof, convicted of the 2015 Charleston church massacre; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the perpetrators of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

The 37 inmates whose sentences were commuted were convicted of a range of offenses, including murders of law enforcement officers, children, and other inmates. Some were scheduled for execution alongside co-defendants.

Biden, who supports capital punishment only in cases of "terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder" at the federal level, stated this move aims to prevent the incoming Trump administration from carrying out executions under policies he opposes. He instituted a moratorium on federal executions upon taking office in 2021.

The list of those granted commutations includes individuals convicted of carjackings, prison guard murders, the murder of a postal worker, a murder-for-hire plot involving a naval officer, the kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old girl, and the killing of two brothers inside a restaurant. Two were convicted of murdering witnesses in separate cases, one a police officer and the other in a Medicare fraud investigation. The list also includes those responsible for deadly bank robberies, drug-related killings, and the murder of a fellow servicemember. One inmate, Kaboni Savage, was convicted of orchestrating or committing 12 murders, including an arson that killed six family members of a federal informant.

Several were convicted of murders within federal prisons. Two were found guilty of kidnapping and killing five immigrants for ransom.

This latest round of commutations follows Biden's earlier clemency grants, which have drawn both praise and criticism. Earlier this month, he commuted the sentences of approximately 1,500 individuals on home confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 40 others, including his son, Hunter Biden.

With these actions, Biden has now pardoned 65 individuals and commuted the sentences of 1,634 inmates during his presidency, exceeding the clemency grants of recent predecessors at this point in their first terms. Former corrections officials and advocacy groups have lauded the decision, citing concerns for the safety of correctional staff involved in executions and arguing against capital punishment as a public safety measure.

Biden acknowledged the heinous nature of the crimes committed and expressed sympathy for the victims and their families, but reiterated his opposition to resuming federal executions. He indicated he will continue to review additional pardons and commutations during the remainder of his term.