Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush Lead Colleagues in Calling on President Biden to Commute All Federal Death Row Sentences

Ayanna Pressley, Cori Bush Lead Colleagues in Calling on President Biden to Commute All Federal Death Row Sentences

Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) led 35 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden, urging him to immediately commute the sentences of everyone on federal death row:

“As members of Congress, we stand ready to work with you on your commitment to rebuilding the dignity of America,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter. “We believe that rebuilding the dignity of America requires that we recommit ourselves to the tradition of due process, mercy, and judicial clemency when it comes to matters related to the criminal legal system. For this reason, we urge you to immediately commute the sentences of all those on death row.”

In 2015, the Obama administration halted federal executions by placing a moratorium on the federal death penalty. In 2019, the Trump administration abruptly announced it was reversing the moratorium and moving forward with the first execution in 17 years. On the same day, Representative Pressley introduced legislation to abolish the federal death penalty and resentence all individuals on death row—legislation that Congresswoman Bush joined her and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) in reintroducing (H.R. 262) earlier this month. In their letter today, the lawmakers call on Biden to go further than the Obama administration and commute every sentence on death row, ensuring no future president could do what the Trump administration has done in resuming federal executions.

“We appreciate your vocal opposition to the death penalty and urge you to take swift, decisive action. After referring to the death penalty as ‘deeply troubling,’ President Obama halted federal executions and commuted the sentences of two federal prisoners on death row,” the lawmakers continued. “However, the Obama administration’s reticence to commute more death sentences has allowed the Trump administration to reverse course and pursue a horrifying killing spree over the final seven months of his presidency. Commuting the death sentences of those on death row and ensuring that each person is provided with an adequate and unique re-sentencing process is a crucial first step in remedying this grave injustice.”

“We can collectively save the lives of people all across America. We look forward to working with your administration to enact just and restorative policies that will meaningfully transform our criminal legal system for the better. By exercising your clemency power, you can ensure that there would be no one left on death row to kill. Given the historic nature of your administration, this would be an unprecedented – but necessary – action to reverse systemic injustices and restore America’s moral standing.”

The letter is co-signed by 35 House Democrats: Jake Auchincloss, Karen Bass, Donald S. Beyer Jr., Earl Blumenauer, Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D., Danny K. Davis, Diana DeGette, Dwight Evans, Raúl Grijalva, Alcee L. Hastings, Pramila Jayapal, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr., Mondaire Jones, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, Andy Levin, Zoe Lofgren, Alan Lowenthal, A. Donald McEachin, Marie Newman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, Jan Schakowsky, Haley M. Stevens, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, Paul D. Tonko, Ritchie Torres, David Trone, Juan Vargas, Nydia M. Velázquez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Peter Welch, Nikema Williams.

Earlier this month, Congresswoman Pressley and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Congresswoman Bush, introduced the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2021 to end the use of the death penalty by the federal government and require the re-sentencing of those previously sentenced to death row. The legislation was originally introduced by Rep. Pressley and Senator Durbin in July 2019 following the U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement that it would resume the use of the death penalty.

In December 2020, Congresswoman Pressley led 41 of her House colleagues and three Representatives-Elect, including then Congresswoman-Elect Bush, on a letter calling on President-Elect Joe Biden to end the use of the federal death penalty on his first day in office.  Congresswoman Pressley continues to be a leading voice in calling for the incoming Biden Administration to permanently end this practice through executive order.

In November 2020, Congresswoman Pressley and Senator Durbin, along with Senators Patrick Leahy and Cory Booker, wrote to Attorney General Bill Barr calling for a halt on all scheduled federal executions in the remaining days of the Trump Administration.

In August 2019, Congresswoman Pressley, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Chairman of the Subcommittee, sent letters to the Acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) Hugh J. Hurwitz and Attorney General William P. Barr seeking documents and information regarding the Administration’s July 25, 2019, announcement that the Bureau would resume capital punishment. The Committee is continuing to investigate the administration’s use of this barbaric practice.

President Joe Biden Offers To Exchange Convicted Russian Arms Trafficker For Brittney Griner

President Joe Biden Offers To Exchange Convicted Russian Arms Trafficker For Brittney Griner

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Wednesday the US has offered to release Victor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year prison sentence, in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner and former US marine Paul Whelan, CNN and Axios report.

Griner testified at her trial in Russia on Wednesday, saying that a language interpreter only translated part of what she said during her questioning, according to The Associated Press. Griner has been detained since February and faces up to 10 years in prison after Russian officials said they found cannabis oil in her luggage.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Have Been Elected the Next President and Vice President of the United States

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Have Been Elected the Next President and Vice President of the United States

Photo Courtesy of AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Democratic nominee Joe Biden has defeated President Trump in the 2020 presidential election after winning Pennsylvania and securing 20 electoral votes, according to projections by The Associated Press and NBC News. Biden released a statement on Saturday: “I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris.” Trump also released a statement: “The simple fact is this election is far from over.”

Harris released a video of her phone call with Joe Biden after finding out they were heading to the White House.

Along with being the first woman to hold the office, Senator Kamala Harris is also projected to be the nation’s first Black and Asian American vice president-elect in history, according to NBC and the AP. Harris, 56, is the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica.

Joe Biden becomes the 15th vice president to become president of the United States of America.

Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Eminem Endorse Joe Biden for President

Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Eminem Endorse Joe Biden for President

Joe Biden quotes Eminem in ad encouraging people to vote.

The video, which was shared by Marshall Mathers himself, accompanied the caption: “We have one shot. One opportunity. One moment. Don’t miss the chance — vote.” It included the iconic song from 8 Mile, Lose Yourself.

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter took to Instagram to endorse Joe Biden for President with a video of herself wearing a Biden-Harris face mask.

Taylor Swift also took to social media to encourage everyone to vote with a video that ended with a picture of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

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  • Joe Biden selects Senator Kamala Harris to be his vice presidential running mate

    Joe Biden selects Senator Kamala Harris to be his vice presidential running mate

    The presumptive Democratic nominee has selected the California lawmaker to be his vice presidential running mate in this fall’s general election, the campaign announced on Tuesday.

    Born in Oakland to a Jamaican father and Indian mother, Kamala Harris won her first election in 2003 when she became San Francisco’s district attorney. She was elected California’s attorney general in 2010, the first woman and Black person to hold the job.