Over his long and storied career, Joe Biden has consistently led with compassion, empathy, and a willingness to consider new information and changed circumstances in furtherance of America’s best interests. All of these defining qualities were manifest when he took the historic action of commuting the death sentences of nearly everyone on federal death row to life in prison.

With this courageous action, President Biden has lived up to his promise as the first president to openly oppose capital punishment and secured his legacy as a champion of racial justice, compassion, and fairness.

We have seen stark evidence of the many reasons why capital punishment is an inherently flawed system and a failed public policy. Two recent state cases provide examples — that of Marcellus Williams, who was executed in Missouri despite the opposition of the victim’s family (who supported a life sentence) and the prosecuting attorney’s grave doubts about his guilt, and Robert Roberson, whose case in Texas remains tangled in both litigation and politics despite overwhelming evidence that his case involved no actual crime.