U.S. President Joe Biden has commuted death sentences of nearly all the prisoners on federal death row with exception of only three amid President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to resume federal executions when he returns to the White House in 2025.

Thirteen prisoners on federal death row were executed during Mr Trump’s first term.

In total, 37 federal death row inmates sentenced across 16 states, all of whom were convicted of murder, will see their sentences reduced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. 

However, three men, who were convicted of carrying out notorious mass killings, will remain on federal death row.

“I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level,” Mr Biden said in a statement on Monday. “In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”

During his campaign in 2020, Mr Biden spoke about eliminating the death penalty at federal level but the move to enact a law in that effect during his administration failed in the U.S. Congress. 

He has now decided to spare the lives of 37 death row prisoners as part of his final acts as president.

“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Mr Biden said.

According to the New York Times, of the 37 men whose sentences were commuted, 15 are white, 15 are Black, six are Latino and one is Asian. Nine of them are on death row because they were convicted of killing fellow federal prisoners.