In one of the most significant moves against capital punishment, President Joe Biden has commuted the sentence of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row.

They will stay in prison for life, but will not be subject to execution.

Biden's move is believed to have been driven in part by the incoming Trump administration and an expected hardline policy shift on federal executions.

Following all this closely is Robin Marr.

She's the executive director of the nonpartisan Death Penalty Information Center.

Robin Marr, so nice to have you here.

It's great to be here.

This is a pretty significant move.

I mean, one of the most significant by a president with regards to federal death row inmates.

What does the, what do these commutations mean for death penalty cases overall?

Well, you're right.

This is an historic decision.

This is the largest mass clemency grant of death sentenced people by any U.S.

president since Lincoln and the first in the modern death penalty era. You know, there are 40 people on death row,

37 of them now will receive new sentences of life without the possibility of parole. And of course,

there are about 2,100 people on state death roads throughout the country

whose death sentences will not be affected by this decision. But, you know, part of the motivation

for President Biden today was recognizing the racial bias and the unfairness in some of these

federal death sentences. And many of those criticisms ring true for the men and women on state death

roads as well.

Who are those 37, broadly speaking? I know it's a big group, but roughly speaking,

who are those people whose sentences were commuted today?

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