The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) applauds President Joe Biden’s commutation of sentences for nearly all individuals on federal death row. FCNL has been urging the White House to commute all death penalty sentences to life without parole.
As a Quaker organization, FCNL views that every human holds the Light of God. Every life is precious. The death penalty denies the sacredness of human life, forecloses the opportunity for redemption, and should not be a part of a criminal justice system afflicted with bias and error. The death penalty should be abolished, and FCNL is hopeful that states will follow President Biden’s leadership and end capital punishment.
FCNL encourages moving to restorative justice where offenders face accountability and victims as well as communities are made whole. The act of state-sanctioned killing, by definition, eliminates the possibility of restoring the community and precludes a human being from contrition and achieving wholeness in their community.
