Summary

President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life without parole, sparing all but three convicted of high-profile mass killings.

Biden framed the decision as a moral stance against federal executions, citing his legal background and belief in the dignity of human life.

Donald Trump criticized the move as senseless, vowing to reinstate the death penalty.

Reactions were mixed: some victims’ families condemned Biden, while others supported his decision. Human rights groups praised it as a significant step against capital punishment.

  • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I’m not sure that’s true. Some people legitimately stop at life in prison and always oppose the death penalty.

    • OccamsRazer@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      I’m one of those. Capital punishment is obsolete in my opinion, since we no longer need to execute people to ensure that they don’t present danger to the civilized population in the future.

    • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world
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      23 hours ago

      I’m confident. Granted, for some people that red line may require atrocities at or above Hitler levels. It may require atrocities that are comically unrealistic. But it’s there. Put up someone who killed a proverbial busload of school children. If that isn’t enough, two. “Yeah, I killed them all, and I raped them first, and I’ll do the same again if I ever escape.”. Someone’s gonna say “Yeah, OK, stick the needle in his arm”, just because they don’t want to take the .000001% chance that he actually does escape.

      An extreme example, yes, but I’m sure you get the idea. Everybody’s got a breaking point.

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        Again, I don’t know if that’s true. People seem to have very strange absolute moral ideas sometimes.

        • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world
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          22 hours ago

          That doesn’t necessarily mean their beliefs are absolute. It just means that the red line needed to shake those believes has yet to be found.