Shanmugam questions Biden's selective pardoning of death row inmates, says lawmakers must set aside 'personal feelings’

Policymakers have to "set aside" their personal feelings and be "clear-eyed in assessing what the consequences of a policy are," said Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam in a statement published on his social media pages on Jan. 19, 2025.

On Facebook, his post has since garnered over 1,000 likes, including one from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's Facebook account.

Joe Biden's commutation of death sentences

Shanmugam was responding to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article published in December 2024 on outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to commute the death sentences of 37 inmates.

These 37 inmates, including serial killers of victims as young as eight years old, will serve life sentences in prison instead.

"President Biden referred to his personal conscience, for doing this," wrote Shanmugam.

Shanmugam also noted that WSJ highlighted three others whose death sentences had not been commuted, such as a gunman who had murdered Jewish congregants at a Synagogue, and a person who shot and killed African-American worshippers at a church.

Biden did not commute sentences of those who committed terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder

"WSJ made the point about Biden's personal conscience overriding the law: the prisoners who were pardoned by him had gone through trials, appeals and were found guilty — beyond reasonable doubt," said Shanmugam.

"Why was it ok to pardon some cold-blooded killers, while no pardon was given to other cold-blooded killers?" the minister asked.

The Washington Post noted that Biden's commutation of death sentences to life in prison does not constitute a full pardon, which wipes away convictions.

In a statement, the White House explained that Biden chose not to commute the sentences of three individuals, as they were found guilty of "terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder."

Why is Biden commuting sentences?

Biden has further pardoned another 2,500 inmates convicted of non-violent drug offences — the highest number any president has given in a single day.

This comes as Biden is set to leave office on Jan. 20, and his successor Donald Trump, who supports the death penalty, is set to take office.

Sharing that these prisoners had been serving "disproportionately long" sentences as compared to what they would have received today, Biden reiterated that such action is "an important step toward righting historic wrongs" in a statement published by The White House on Jan. 17.

"I am proud of my record on clemency, and will continue to review additional commutations and pardons," he said.

The White House released a list of all the individuals receiving commuted sentences.

Several human rights groups, religious organisations and leaders, including Pope Francis and Human Rights Watch, had previously appealed to Biden to commute the sentences before he leaves office.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, applauded the commutations, stating that it was a "significant step in advancing the cause of human dignity" in the U.S., reported The Washington Post.

Biden had also recently pardoned his own son, Hunter, for federal tax and gun violations, reported AP News.

He said in December 2024 that his son had been "singled out" and that the way he was being prosecuted was a "miscarriage of justice".

Public interest a primary consideration in drug policy

In his post, Shanmugam also took the opportunity to reiterate his position on the death penalty for drug offences in Singapore, stating that the "public interest of Singapore is the primary consideration" at heart, and decisions are made with the "best interests" of Singaporeans as a whole.

He wrote:

"One's personal beliefs can and will inform one's views on policy, but in the end, you have to do what is right by society, for the benefit of the community as a whole, regardless of your personal beliefs; to do otherwise would be wrong."

Shanmugam wrote that he had said in a previous interview that one needs to have "a kind heart but a hard head" in public policy. He added:

"Taking away life is serious; and it does weigh heavily on one's mind — no one wants to have the death of anyone else on his conscience"

Taking the opportunity to highlight the fundamental differences between the experiences of other countries, including those in the West, Shanmugam explained the considerations behind Singapore's stance on the death penalty for drug trafficking.

"In the U.S., every 15 months, more Americans die from abusing fentanyl than from all of America's wars combined since the Second World War, from Korea to Afghanistan."

Noting that although the removal of the death penalty will "save the lives of drug traffickers", it will inevitably "encourage more people" to traffic drugs into Singapore, said Shanmugam.

"The supply of drugs will undoubtedly rise," he added, citing spill-over consequences of more crime, violence and drug-related deaths. "Many more innocent people will die in Singapore, including more innocent young children."

"Tough approach" necessary

Reflecting on Singapore's progress, Shanmugam also noted that the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) now arrests about 3,000 drug abusers annually — half of that in the 1990s.

"All things being equal, this number should have gone up in the last 30 years: the supply of drugs in the region has exploded, our purchasing power has increased significantly, and the international environment is increasingly drug-tolerant," said Shanmugam.

He attributed this development to Singapore's "tough approach", which has saved "thousands of lives", including those of potential drug abusers and the victims of crimes associated with drug abuse.

He asked rhetorically:

"Should the government remove the death penalty, when we completely believe that doing so would certainly lead to many more people dying — and thousands more lives (including children) harmed in some way, from drugs?"

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Top image from Shanmugam and Biden's Facebook pages