As 2024 draws to a close, the shape of Donald Trump’s administration is becoming clearer. His latest nomination is construction executive Edward Walsh as ambassador to Ireland.
Meanwhile, there are 40 men in Terre Haute, Indiana, who will view Trump’s forthcoming inauguration with apprehension, as it will almost certainly shorten their life expectancy. These men are mostly close neighbours, the vast majority of them living on the same row in tiny concrete and steel enclosures. None of them was allowed to vote in the election and it will not be possible for them to come together to discuss what may lie ahead under the new political dispensation. This is because they are held in solitary confinement, in cells smaller than a standard parking space, where they struggle to remain sane.
They have the peculiar distinction of knowing when, where and how it is intended their lives will end. At a specific date and time, they will be strapped to a gurney by several correctional officers. Most will submit quietly to the tie-down team, having spent many years anticipating this moment.
In the run-up to Christmas, the outgoing president might be prevailed upon to display some of the Christian charity that is part of the Irish heritage he proudly declaims
Once they are immobilised, a catheter will be inserted into their arm and connected to a device that will deliver poison to their body. Their final moments will be watched by prison staff, journalists and possibly family members. They may take the opportunity to say a few words before their life is extinguished. They have all been convicted of terrible things but there is nothing to be gained by the authorities snuffing out their lives because they snuffed out the lives of others.
Killings by the state are carefully choreographed and follow strict written protocols. They are carried out soberly and with grim determination, sometimes despite deep concerns about the safety of the condemned person’s conviction.
The killings committed by those on death row could not be more different. Often chaotic and reckless, these are crimes where drugs, alcohol, mental illness and heightened emotion played significant roles.
As the only western democracy that continues to use capital punishment, the US is a glaring outlier. The last execution in Ireland took place in 1954.
Joe Biden promised to work to end the death penalty. If he means what he says, he could show clemency to the 40 men on federal death row in Terre Haute. He does not need anyone’s permission to commute their sentences. This is something he can attend to personally should he wish to live up to his commitments. His tardiness in this regard is difficult to understand.
It might seem eccentric to implore Biden to show mercy to a handful of hardened criminals at a time when his approach to the Middle East has facilitated such a colossal loss of life. But his room for manoeuvre is more limited in the international arena than in this specific domain of domestic criminal justice.
If he decides not to act, their prospects are grim. Trump oversaw 13 federal executions during his final months in office. This was unprecedentedly cruel, and it is likely that the killing spree will resume as soon as he is back in office. The Mandate for Leadership published by Project 25 – which many consider to be the blueprint for the second Trump term, though he has publicly distanced himself from it – calls for everything possible to be done “to obtain finality” for these condemned men.
Biden has little to lose by showing mercy to those who deserve it least
A convicted felon putting other convicted felons to death is a horrific prospect.
Biden has little to lose by showing mercy to those who deserve it least. He may be concerned about being portrayed as soft on crime but how heavily will this consideration weigh as he segues into retirement in Delaware, a state where capital punishment has been abolished? His decision to grant an unconditional pardon to his son, Hunter, a former drug addict who faced imprisonment on tax and firearms charges, suggests that remaining on the right side of public opinion is no longer a paramount concern.
In the run-up to Christmas, the outgoing president might be prevailed upon to display some of the Christian charity that is part of the Irish heritage he proudly and regularly declaims.
I estimate that it would take him no more than three or four minutes to sign the commutation notices.
This is less time than he will spend signing cards with festive greetings, saying the rosary or attending Mass. It is less time than he spent on the White House lawn on November 25th “pardoning” two turkeys, Peach and Blossom, to celebrate Thanksgiving. Is it too much to expect that he will find the necessary few minutes before he leaves office to show mercy to 40 men?
This would be a magnificent gesture and something for which the 46th president would be remembered with respect. It would demonstrate that – however feeble he may appear to be – Biden retains the capacity for decisive and principled action and for making good on his commitments.
Ian O’Donnell is professor of criminology at University College Dublin and author of Justice, Mercy and Caprice: Clemency and the Death Penalty in Ireland
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