Biden gives life in prison to 37 of 40 federal death row inmates, weeks before Trump takes office

President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of 40 federal, death-row inmates.

The move converts the punishments from possible execution to life imprisonment, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump, who is a proponent of capital punishment, takes office, according to the Associated Press.

"Biden believes that America must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level, except in cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder – which is why today’s actions apply to all but those cases," the White Houe said. "His actions today will prevent the next Administration from carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice."

Read the list of names of the 37 people who were spared execution

The three federal inmates still facing execution are Dylann Roof, who in 2015 killed nine black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018, the wire service also reports.

Among the 37 convicted killers are those who slayed police and military officers.

The White House said the individuals will have their sentences "reclassified" from execution to life without the possibility of parole.