Too few pardons? Joe Biden has "saved more turkeys than people"
Joe Biden has given eight turkeys the gift of life during his time in office. However, activists are now criticizing him for not pardoning anyone sentenced to death.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- According to an old tradition, US President Joe Biden gave two turkeys the gift of life on the occasion of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
- The fact that the incumbent president has not pardoned anyone sentenced to death during his time in office is a thorn in the side of activists.
- They took the turkey pardons as an opportunity to draw attention to this.
- It is assumed that the number of executions carried out under federal law will be high again under future US President Donald Trump.
- 13 of the 16 executions carried out under federal law since the reintroduction of the death penalty were carried out during Trump's first term in office.
It is a long-standing tradition in the United States for the incumbent president to pardon one or more turkeys at Thanksgiving. Joe Biden saved the lives of two more animals in this way last Monday. In total, he has saved eight during his time in office.
Activists against the death penalty are now taking this statistic as an opportunity to sharply criticize the Democrat. "More turkeys have been saved from plates in the US than people have been saved from death row," read a message from the Prison Policy initiative on Instagram.
More executions expected under Trump
The activists have probably not only chosen the time for their protest because of Thanksgiving. Donald Trump's presidency, which begins next January, also played a role.
During the Republican's first term in office, 13 people were executed under federal law - 16 in total since the death penalty was reintroduced in 1976. The remaining three death sentences were carried out during George W. Bush's term.
The Biden administration has temporarily suspended executions during its time in office. In the eyes of activists, this is not good enough: those who are not pardoned beforehand are more likely to be executed under Trump.
However, the organization does not envisage an unconditional pardon after which the convicts would be released. Rather, the death sentences should be commuted to life imprisonment.
