U.S. President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences for 37 out of 40 federal inmates on death row, converting them to life in prison without parole.
美国总统乔·拜登为40名联邦死刑犯中的37人减刑,将他们改为终身监禁,不得假释。
The move on Monday comes just weeks before Biden hands over power to President-elect Donald Trump, who has plans to expand executions once back in office.
周一的这一举动发生在拜登将权力移交给当选总统唐纳德·特朗普的几周前,特朗普计划是一上台就大力推行死刑。
In recent weeks, Biden faced pressure from congressional Democrats, opponents of capital punishment and religious leaders such as Pope Francis to commute federal death sentences before he leaves.
最近几个星期,拜登面临着来自国会民主党人、反对死刑人士以及教宗方济各等宗教领袖的压力,他们要求拜登在离任前减轻联邦死刑判决。
In a statement, he said: "I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted."
在一份声明中,拜登说:“我比以往任何时候都更加确信,我们必须在联邦一级停止使用死刑。凭良心说,我不能袖手旁观,任由新一届政府重启我已叫停的处决。”
His decision on Monday does not apply to cases of terrorism or hate-motivated mass murder.
他周一的决定不适用于恐怖主义或仇恨引发的大规模谋杀案件。
It leaves out three of the most well-known men on federal death row:
这次不在减刑之列的,是联邦死刑犯中最有名的三个人:
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted for his involvement in the bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line in 2013;
焦哈尔·察尔纳耶夫,因参与2013年波士顿马拉松赛终点线爆炸案而被定罪;
Dylann Roof, convicted for the shooting spree at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015;
迪伦·鲁夫,因2015年在南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿的伊曼纽尔非裔卫理公会教堂开枪射击而被定罪;
and, Robert Bowers, who was convicted for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.
以及罗伯特·鲍尔斯,他因2018年在匹兹堡生命之树犹太教堂的大规模枪击事件而被定罪。
All three men have filed appeals and legal challenges to their sentences which must be resolved before execution dates can be set, a process that can take years.
这三名男子都对判决提出了上诉和法律挑战(必须在确定执行日期之前解决),这一过程可能需要数年时间。
Biden's decision does not affect the nearly 2,200 death-row prisoners convicted in state courts, as he holds no authority over such executions.
拜登的决定不会影响在州法院被定罪的近2200名死囚,因为他对此类处决没有权力赦免。