In 2019, President Biden said, “Because we can’t ensure that we get these cases right every time, we must eliminate the death penalty.” Five years later, the death penalty still remains and innocent people, like Marcellus Williams, have been executed.

President Biden has just over six weeks left to commute the sentences of the 40 men currently sitting on the federal death row and take a major step toward a more fair and just criminal legal system. Will you urge him now to commute all federal death sentences before his time as president ends?

Scores of innocent people have been convicted of murder and sentenced to death in this country. The factors that drive such wrongful convictions — police and prosecutorial misconduct, eyewitness misidentification, unreliable forensic evidence, racial bias, and more — persist within the federal death penalty system.

But while people convicted in state systems can appeal to both state and federal courts, those in the federal system have only one chance. This makes proving a wrongful conviction even more difficult and puts innocent people at risk of execution.

Research and statistics point to the death penalty being deeply flawed, and yet President Trump has explicitly said that he plans to swiftly resume federal executions in his second term. The execution of an innocent person is a morally and constitutionally intolerable event — and here at the Innocence Project, we’re calling on President Biden to commute the sentences of the 40 men currently on federal death row.

Will you join us and add your name now to persuade the president to commute the row?

By commuting the sentences of those on federal death row, President Biden has the opportunity to fulfill the promise he made back in 2020 and to take a crucial step toward ensuring innocent lives are not at stake, ending unjust executions, and advancing a more just America.

John, we can’t afford to uphold a system that risks innocent lives and deepens racial injustice, so join us in calling for an end to federal executions today.

Please take one minute today to sign the petition and urge President Biden to do the right thing and commute the federal death row today:

Thank you,