Biden offered mercy to 37 of the 40 murderers on death row — some of whom abducted and sexually assaulted their victims before killing them.

Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades.

The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals.