It was the kind of move that either makes you cheer for mercy or grit your teeth in frustration. Right before he left the Oval Office in late 2024, Joe Biden did something massive. He basically took a pen and wiped out nearly the entire federal death row. We’re talking about 37 out of 40 people who were waiting for an execution date in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Now, honestly, if you’re looking for a simple "good vs. evil" story here, you won't find it. This wasn't a blanket pardon. Nobody walked free. Instead, the Biden death row commutations turned those death sentences into life without the possibility of parole. They’re staying behind bars until they die; they just won't be killed by the state.
But here is where it gets weird. We are now in 2026, and the fallout is still hitting the fan. While Biden wanted to protect these inmates from a potential "execution spree" under the next administration, the current DOJ—under Attorney General Pam Bondi—hasn't exactly let them off easy.
The December Surprise: Who Got Spared and Who Didn’t?
When the news broke on December 23, 2024, it felt like a tactical strike. Biden had been under pressure for years from activists to live up to his campaign promise of ending the federal death penalty. He waited until the literal last minute.
Basically, he spared almost everyone. But he purposefully left three names on the list. You probably know them:
- Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: The Boston Marathon bomber.
- Dylann Roof: The white supremacist who murdered nine people at the Mother Emanuel AME Church.
- Robert Bowers: The shooter who attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue.
Why leave those three? It’s political and moral math. Biden's team knew that commuting the sentences of mass-murdering terrorists and hate-crime shooters would be a bridge too far for the American public. By sparing the other 37—many of whom were involved in drug-related murders or gang violence—he tried to take a stand against what he called a "broken and biased" system without appearing "soft" on the worst of the worst.
The Names You Might Recognize
Among the 37 who got their sentences reduced were people like Norris Holder and Billie Jerome Allen. They’d been on death row for a 1997 bank robbery that ended in the death of a guard. Their lawyers argued for decades about racial bias in their sentencing. For them, Biden’s signature was a literal life-saver.
The 2026 Reality: Life After the Commutation
You’d think "life without parole" means they just sit in their cells in Indiana, right? Nope.
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The Trump administration didn't take this lying down. Since early 2025, the DOJ has been moving these "commutation recipients" to ADX Florence in Colorado. If you haven't heard of it, they call it the "Alcatraz of the Rockies." It is the most restrictive supermax prison in the world.
Attorney General Pam Bondi hasn't been shy about the strategy. She’s gone on record calling these men "monsters" and basically saying if the government can’t execute them, they’ll make sure their "life" is spent in 23-hour-a-day total isolation.
- Aquilia Barnette and Len Davis were among the latest to be shipped off to Colorado in late 2025.
- Shannon Agofsky, who actually sued to stop his own commutation (he thought it would hurt his chances for a full appeal), was also moved to the supermax.
The ACLU is currently fighting these transfers in court. They’re arguing that the government is using ADX Florence as a "shadow death row" to punish people for a clemency decision they didn't even ask for. It’s a legal mess that’s likely headed to the Supreme Court.
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Why People Are Still Angry
If you talk to the families of the victims, the Biden death row commutations feel like a slap in the face.
Imagine sitting through years of trials, reliving the worst day of your life, only to have a president change the outcome with a stroke of a pen. Heather Turner, whose mother was killed in a 2017 bank robbery, called the move a "gross abuse of power." For many, the death penalty isn't about bloodlust; it's about a specific type of justice that was promised and then taken away.
On the flip side, death penalty opponents point out the numbers. The federal death row has always been disproportionately Black and Latino. They argue that you can't have a "fair" death penalty when the system itself is tilted.
A Quick Breakdown of the Numbers
- Total Federal Death Row before Dec 2024: 40
- Total Commuted: 37
- Left on Death Row: 3 (Roof, Tsarnaev, Bowers)
- Current Status of the 37: Most are in the process of being transferred to Supermax facilities.
What Happens Now?
The moratorium on executions that Merrick Garland put in place is officially over. The new administration has already directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty in new cases—like the prosecution of Luigi Mangione, the guy accused of the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting.
But for the "Biden 37," the door to the execution chamber is likely closed for good. A president can’t "un-commute" a sentence once it’s been signed and delivered. That’s settled law. So, while they won't face a lethal injection, the legal battle over how they live out their remaining years is just getting started.
Actionable Insights: What You Can Do
If you’re following this because you care about justice reform or victims' rights, here’s how to stay informed:
- Monitor the ACLU vs. DOJ Lawsuit: This case will determine if the government can use "Administrative Maximum" (ADX) placement as a punitive tool for clemency recipients.
- Check the Office of the Pardon Attorney: The DOJ website actually has a searchable database where you can see the status of every clemency case. It's updated regularly.
- Watch State-Level Trends: While the federal battle is loud, most "death row" action happens at the state level. Watch states like Ohio and South Carolina, which are currently moving to restart their own execution chambers with new methods like nitrogen gas.
The Biden death row commutations weren't just a political stunt; they were a permanent shift in the federal landscape. Whether you think it was a brave act of mercy or a betrayal of victims, the reality is that the federal death row as we knew it is essentially gone, replaced by a new era of "supermax" litigation.
Next Steps: You might want to look into how your specific state handles the death penalty compared to the federal system, as many states are currently drafting "Capital Crimes" legislation to counter the federal shift.