Biden Death Row Clemency, Long COVID Research, Lebanon Antiquities Damaged
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Good morning, it's Asma Khalid. Before we dive into today's show, I want to give you all a quick look behind the scenes of Up First. Here at NPR, our staff work round the clock to bring you the latest news. They coordinate with reporters and editors across the country and around the world to make sure you start your day with analysis and news from the biggest stories of the moment. You can sign up for NPR Plus today at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org. Now, on to the news. President Biden is using his presidential authority to commute the sentences of dozens of men on federal death row. With just a few weeks left in office, what's behind the president's decision? I'm Asma Khalid, and this is Up First from NPR News.
For those living with long COVID, it can come with extreme fatigue, brain fog and heart problems.
Millions of Americans can't keep waiting and keeping their lives on pause or even dying, you know, with this condition.
Will new investment in research bring patients suffering with these symptoms any closer to reliable treatments? And a number of cultural heritage sites in Lebanon were damaged during the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Will they be rebuilt? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
Today, President Biden is using his clemency powers to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row. The 37 individuals who are all men will now serve life in prison without parole. It's one of the most significant moves against capital punishment in recent presidential history. And here to talk through the news is NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram. Good morning, Deepa. Hey, good morning. So what has President Biden said about this decision?
Well, the president put out a statement this morning and he laid out a couple of points. He was clear in saying that he condemns the people convicted of murder who are on federal death row and he grieves with the victims who have suffered because of them. But he says his decision to commute the sentences for the 37 men. was guided by his conscience, his experience as a public defender, his time as a senator, vice president, and president. And Biden said, quote, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. And just a couple things to keep in mind here, Asma. Biden commuted the sentences of these 37 men to life in prison. So that's different than granting a pardon, right? These men will still be guilty for the crimes they committed. They will not be eligible for any kind of parole. And the other thing to remember is that Biden's actions here only apply to those facing the federal death penalty. There are still people on death row in different states, though.
And of course, three of the 40 men on federal death row, Biden did not commute their sentences. So tell us more about those three men. Who are they? Yeah, so these are very specific, pretty high-profile cases that involved terrorism or hate-fueled mass murder. So that includes Robert Bowers, who was convicted for the 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, Dylan Roof, convicted for the 2015 mass shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of the 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon. Those three men will remain on federal death row.
Deepa, I think this is all really interesting because I recall covering President Biden's campaign and back during that 2020 presidential election cycle, he said that he opposed the death penalty, but he has not taken a whole lot of action as president on this issue until now. How much pressure was he facing to do this?
Yeah, I mean, there were a lot of calls for Biden to use his clemency powers for those on death row, from criminal justice advocates to people like Pope Francis. And it really bubbled up more after he pardoned his own son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted of tax and gun charges. And after that happened, Biden used his clemency powers to pardon 39 people who had been convicted of nonviolent crimes.
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