AFSC protests the death penalty in May of 1990. Terry Foss / AFSC
PHILADELPHIA (December 23, 2024) Today, President Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 people on federal death row. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) – a Quaker organization that has worked for decades to end death sentences – applauded the decision and called for the permanent abolition of the death penalty.
“State sponsored executions are an affront to morality, common sense, and history,” said Lewis Webb, U.S. peacebuilding director for AFSC. “Death sentences fail to prevent crime, disproportionately target people of color, and have condemned numerous people who were later exonerated. We applaud the commutation of these sentences and call on federal and state governments to end this cruel practice in its entirety.”
AFSC is one of many organizations that have been pressuring the White House to commute these sentences before President-elect Trump – who has pledged to restart federal executions – takes office next month. While advocates are celebrating the news, many say it stops far short of what is needed.
“We need a complete abolition of death sentences,” said Mary Zerkel, Midwest Associate Regional Director for AFSC “This means ending the death penalty at the state and federal level, but it also means an end to any sentence that condemns the recipient to die behind bars. Life Without Parole and other sentences that exceed a person’s natural life are the death penalty by another name. All people deserve a chance to return home to their families and communities.”
In addition to federal advocacy, AFSC programs in Michigan, New Jersey, California, New Hampshire, West Virginia, and New York are all working to change sentencing, commutation, and parole policies at the state level.
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.