TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Tell President Biden to Commute Billie Allen's Death Sentence

Billie Jerome Allen has been on federal death row for well over half his life. His case is one of the many reasons the death penalty should be abolished in the United States: he is a Black man who was convicted by a nearly all-white jury, and there is a lack of DNA evidence linking him to the crime he was accused of committing.

President Biden promised to work to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level — but has not acted.

ACT NOW: Tell President Biden to use his constitutional authority to commute the death sentence of Billie Allen and all others on federal death row.

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Dear President Biden,

I welcomed the abolitionist pledge you made before taking office but am concerned at the lack of decisive action in the past four years to make that promise a reality. Indeed, your administration’s defense of federal death sentences – opposing relief and moving individuals closer to execution – is reason to question its commitment to your pledge.

More than 40 men remain on federal death row. One of them is Billie Allen, 19 years old at the time of the crime. He is now 46.  His case illustrates the sort of racial and geographic biases which have long been of concern about the death penalty in the USA.  
I do not seek to minimize the seriousness of violent crime or to downplay its consequences on individuals, their families, and the wider community. However, I believe the death penalty is a symptom of violence not a solution to it and expands the grief and suffering of relatives and loved ones of murder victims to those of the condemned.

International law requires governments to ensure abolition of the death penalty within a reasonable timeframe.  Nearly half a century after the USA resumed judicial killing, it is falling far short of this responsibility. Mr. President, you and your predecessors have frequently asserted that the USA is a global human rights champion. During your tenure as President, you proclaimed that the “United States is leading the power of our example – demonstrating that our commitment to human rights begins here at home”. 
Please meet your abolitionist pledge. As an immediate first step, I urge you to use your constitutional authority to commute the death sentences of Billie Allen and all others on federal death row.

Yours sincerely,

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