ACS Applauds Historic Death Row Commutations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Rodriguez, media@acslaw.org

Washington, D.C. -- American Constitution Society President Russ Feingold released the following statement today in response to President Biden's decision to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row to life without parole:

“ACS and I commend and celebrate President Biden’s compassionate and courageous decision to use his constitutional authority to commute the death sentences of nearly all the people on the federal death row.

By this historic act, President Biden cements his legacy and keeps his promise as the first president to publicly oppose the death penalty. He also demonstrates our shared understanding that the federal death penalty—like all other death penalty regimes throughout the country—is applied in an arbitrary and racially bias manner and risks the execution of innocent people.

For the past four years ACS, along with other civil and human rights organizations, prosecutors and judges, corrections officials, faith leaders, and victims’ families, have urged President Biden to take this bold step. We are grateful for his actions and hope that governors and state legislators in states that still retain the death penalty will be inspired to reexamine their own flawed systems in response to his leadership.”

During his time in the U.S. Senate, Russ Feingold was a leading opponent of the death penalty, introducing bills to abolish the federal death penalty in every session of Congress he served.

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AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY
The American Constitution Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. Through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others, our mission is to support and advocate for laws and legal systems that redress the founding failures of our Constitution, strengthen our democratic legitimacy, uphold the rule of law, and realize the promise of equality for all, including people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and other historically excluded communities. For more information, visit us at www.acslaw.org.