CMN Board Chair and Executive Director send Letter to President Biden

President Joe Biden could save the lives of all 40 men on the federal death row. Catholic Mobilizing Network is urging him to do so now.

President Biden was the first American President to publicly oppose the death penalty and campaigned on a promise to end the practice in the United States. Early in the Biden Administration, the Department of Justice halted executions by instituting a moratorium. Before leaving office, President Biden should take a more concrete step in fulfilling his campaign promise.

President Biden has the constitutional authority to commute the sentences of every individual (currently 40 men) on the federal death row. This action would prevent any future administration from executing these men. Our Catholic voice — among many others calling for this action — could be the most persuasive, as it can speak to President Biden’s deeply held beliefs, faith, and moral conviction.

In November 2024, CMN Board Chair Sr. Rita Ann Teichman, CSJ and Executive Director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy sent this joint letter to the President, which is now made public:

Dear Mr. President,

We write to you as fellow Catholics and on behalf of Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN), the national network of Catholics and people of goodwill working to end the death penalty, advance justice, and begin healing. CMN’s network of more than 30,000 advocates includes Catholic bishops, dioceses, state Catholic conferences, religious communities, members of the laity, and others from across the nation.

As we approach the historic Jubilee Year of 2025, a time when the Holy Father Pope Francis has called for “forgiveness, reconciliation, and an end to every form of death penalty,” we ask you to act in the spirit of mercy and the kind of justice that upholds the dignity of all life, no matter the harm one has caused or suffered, to commute the sentences of all 40 men currently on federal death row.

During your presidential campaign, you opposed the death penalty, notably following the federal execution spree carried out under the Trump administration that came after a 17-year hiatus. CMN held national prayer vigils for each person executed in 2020-2021; your execution moratorium was an act of courage and justice. Yet we know that this alone cannot guarantee the protection of those on death row, nor does it prevent future administrations from resuming executions.

As a matter of faith and moral conviction, Catholic Mobilizing Network seeks an end to the death penalty in the United States. At this time, real advances can be made to save the lives of those on the federal death row. We know that the federal death row, just as in the states, is marred by significant arbitrariness, including racial bias and the imposition on vulnerable individuals such as those with intellectual disability, brain damage, and serious mental illness. There is also a risk that innocent people will be put to death. It is because of our moral conviction along with these practical reasons that we urge you to use your authority to commute the federal death row before leaving office.

As Catholics, we understand that every person is made in the image of God and that our Heavenly Father does not shut the door on anyone. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states unequivocally that “the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,’ and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.” (2267)

By commuting these sentences, you could use your constitutional authority in a way that would mirror the spirit of reconciliation during this special Jubilee 2025 year. Indeed, your commutation of the entire federal row would be a tangible expression of your commitment to end the federal death penalty.

In the remaining weeks of your presidency, you no doubt have many weighty matters to consider. We trust that you will give this request your full attention, as we all strive to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

With hope in Christ that does not disappoint,