President Biden did right to commute the death sentences of 37 federal prisoners to life without parole.

Now he should commute the sentences of the three remaining inmates on federal death row.

The point is not that these three men, unquestionably terrorists and murderers, “deserve” clemency, but that a modern, democratic society should reject the barbaric ritual of state executions.

Executions accomplish nothing but revenge, which is not a legitimate motive for civilized governments. They do not restore victims to life or, according to most studies, deter future crimes. Even the reverently invoked “sense of closure” for victims’ families often proves an illusion.

Respectable physicians refuse to participate in executions and reputable pharmacies refuse to supply drugs for them, leaving the grisly procedure to be carried out frequently by bungling corrections personnel with illicitly obtained, often agony-producing chemicals. We know well that many innocent people are convicted and executed. But even if there were never wrongful convictions and even if executions could be compassionately and painlessly conducted, they would be wrong.

“Justice” is an arbitrary and changing concept which should progress with the leading edge of human civilization. The precept that two wrongs do not make a right has withstood the test of time.

Donald Trump has made clear his eagerness to kill anyone left on federal death row and to extend capital punishment to additional crimes.

We hope President Biden will have the courage to stand on principle before the Trump onslaught.

Judy and Michael Olinick

Middlebury