DENVER — Denver District Attorney Beth McCann added her signature to a letter calling on President Joe Biden to commute the sentence of every inmate on federal death row before he exits the Oval Office.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there are currently 40 people on federal death row. In July 2019, the federal government resumed executions after a nearly two-decade lapse. Colorado abolished capital punishment shortly after in early 2020.
McCann, former 20th Judicial District Attorney Stan Garnett and 36 other officials either currently or formerly involved in the criminal justice system issued the letter in November. It begins by asking Biden to "fulfill your commitment to justice and use your power to immediately clear the federal death row."
Read the full letter below:
Thirteen people were executed by the federal government during the final six months of President-elect Donald Trump's first term, according to the Associated Press. The letter calls the 13 executions "an assault on human dignity and an affront to the American values that you represent." It goes on to call for "bold and definitive action" before Trump returns to the White House.
"We need clear and lasting steps that will ensure that the next administration will not execute the people currently facing death sentences in the federal system," the letter states.
The 38 officials acknowledged the circumstances that led to such sentences but claimed "the way that the death penalty has been carried out in our country raises serious concerns."
"Make no mistake: the crimes for which the people on federal death row were sentenced to death are horrific and heartbreaking, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. However, unlike what we might want to believe, we know that we have not always executed the worst of the worst, but often instead put to death the unluckiest of the unlucky—the impoverished, the poorly represented, and the most broken," the letter reads.
In order to right these alleged wrongs, the group is asking Biden to clear the federal death row by commuting each person's sentence.
"Granting clemency informed by conscience and a respect for human dignity advances public trust in the legal system and demonstrates to the American people that the rule of law informed by compassion is the heart of true justice," the letter concludes.
Trump will begin his second presidential term on Jan. 20, 2025.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.