Squad Member Demands Clemency For Criminals On Death Row

Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush is considered the newest member of the “Squad” and she is calling on President-elect Joe Biden to grant clemency to the prisoners remaining on death row by arguing that execution is just “murder in the name of justice.”

“Joe Biden cannot leave the lives of those on death row in the hands of future presidents,” said Bush in a Time Magazine op-ed while addressing the Trump administration’s decision to continue federal executions.

Bush wrote, “If [Biden] truly opposes the death penalty he must do everything in his power to stop it for good. Granting clemency to all on federal death row is his most effective tool.”

She also said she would support legislation brought forward by another Squad member, Ayanna Pressley, that would ban the death penalty in response to violations of federal law.

But until that legislation becomes law, it is the responsibility of the executive branch to put an end to state-sanctioned murder.

“Ending the death penalty is about justice,” Bush explained. “It’s about mercy. It’s about putting a stop to this nation’s dark history of lynching and slavery. It’s about making it clear that our government should not have the power to end a life. We must build a fair criminal-legal system on a foundation of mercy, due process, and equity. We must break the cycles of death, devastation and trauma that have broken Black and brown communities like mine.”

On Thursday, the Trump administration carried out its ninth federal execution of the year and the first during a lame-duck period in 130 years, putting to death a gang-member from Texas for his role in the killing of a couple from Iowa.

Then on Friday, a Louisiana truck driver was also put to death for abusing his 2-year-old daughter for several weeks then killing her.