The US President has commuted the sentences for 37 prisoners on death row.

The inmates, who originally received the death penalty, will instead face life in prison without parole.

President Biden said in a statement that he is "more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level".

"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," he said.

"But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, Vice-President, and now President, 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."

President Biden had been facing pressure from advocacy groups to commute death penalties ahead of President-elect Trump entering office in January.

Prison Unit in California, Alamy

There are three federal death prisoners who are excluded from President Biden's measure.

They include Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who was found guilty of 30 counts relating to the 2015 Boston Marathon bombing, Dylann Roof who killed nine Black church members in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015 and Robert Bowers who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.

President Biden's clemency only commuted the sentences of prisoners on the federal death row.

There are over 2,000 prisoners on death row who have been convicted by State authorities.

The death penalty is currently legal in 27 US states.

Feature image: President Biden, Alamy.