WASHINGTON — Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) issued the following statement on President Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row.
“This is a historic day in America. We thank President Biden for this extraordinary act to spare the 37 individuals facing the death penalty, a discriminatory and fundamentally inhumane punishment. This is a powerful use of executive action to save lives and deliver justice.
“This moment would not be possible without the tireless organizing and activism of progressives in Congress and on the ground, who have been leading the fight for years to abolish the death penalty and institute a more just legal system. But our work is not done. The Congressional Progressive Caucus was proud to include the abolition of the federal death penalty in our Proposition Agenda earlier this year and we are committed to seeing it enacted into law. Additionally, more must be done to fix the systemic flaws in our justice system - including improving access to legal resources and addressing the disproportionate arrest and conviction rates for communities of color. We thank the President for this significant step and urge him to use his last few days in office to commute the sentences of the thousands of Americans impacted by the War on Drugs and decades of harmful, disparate convictions and sentencing.”
