President Biden will commute the sentences of nearly all federal death row inmates, less than two weeks after he issued the “largest single-day pardon” in U.S. history, the White House said Monday. It was announced on .
Of the 40 people on federal death row, Biden has commuted the sentences of 37 men sentenced to death, reclassifying them to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org.
The three inmates not included are: Robert Bowers, the man responsible for the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting that killed 11 people; Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who murdered nine black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, along with his late brother, helped keep alive the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and injured hundreds.
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Ahead of the Trump administration, President Biden will commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 convicted murderers on federal death row and reclassify them to life in prison without parole. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
The men, resentful of life sentences without the possibility of parole, have been convicted of various acts of murder against one or more people. The 37 victims include law enforcement officers, children and other prisoners.
A small number of death row inmates were also scheduled to be executed along with their co-defendants.
Biden only supports the death penalty at the federal level for “mass murders motivated by terrorism and hatred,” a measure that would allow President-elect Donald Trump's administration to “improve the death penalty that would not be handed down under current policy.” “It will prevent the sentence from being carried out.” And practice,” a White House statement said.
The president announced a moratorium on federal executions after taking office in 2021.
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Convicted murderers currently escaping execution include Marciewicz Barnett, who killed a man and his ex-girlfriend in a carjacking. Co-defendants Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fawkes kidnapped and murdered the woman after escaping from prison. Anthony Battle, who killed a prison guard. Jason Brown stabbed a postal worker to death. Thomas Hager, who committed drug-related murders. David Runyon participates in a murder-for-hire plot against naval officers. Thomas Sanders kidnapped and murdered a 12-year-old girl. Rejon Taylor, who carjacked, kidnapped, and murdered a restaurant owner. and Alejandro Umana, who murdered two brothers inside a restaurant.
The federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana houses most of America's federal death row inmates, including convicted murderers. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Two men were on death row for the murder of a witness. One is Len Davis, a police officer who ordered the murder of a witness as part of an investigation into misconduct charges against him, and the other is Ronald Mikos, who killed a federal grand jury witness in the case. Medicare fraud investigation.
Former Marine Jorge Torres was scheduled to be executed for the murder of another military man.
The list also includes men who committed deadly bank robberies, including co-defendants Billy Allen and Norris Holder, who killed a bank employee during the crime. Brandon Council, who killed two bank employees. Darryl Lawrence killed a special duty police officer during an attempted bank robbery.
A Sept. 12, 2017, booking photo from the Florence County Jail shows Brandon Council, who was sentenced to death for robbing a bank and killing two bank employees. (Florence County Detention Center, via AP)
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Co-defendants James Roane Jr. and Richard Tipton committed a series of drug-related murders as gang members, along with Corey Johnson, who was executed in 2021.
Julius Robinson killed two people over drugs, as did co-defendants Ricardo Sanchez Jr. and Daniel Troya, who killed his family, including two children.
Drug lord Kaboni Savage killed or directed others to kill 12 people over 16 years, including an arson that killed six family members of a federal informant.
Philadelphia drug lord Kaboni Savage was convicted of committing or directing 12 murders, including the incendiary bombing of a federal witness' home. Four children and two adults died in the incident. (FBI)
Edward Fields was on death row for killing two campers on federal property, and Marvin Gabrion and Richard Jackson were on death row for killing a woman on federal property in separate incidents. .
Co-defendants Julijus Kadamovas and Iuri Mikel were found guilty of kidnapping and killing five Russian and Georgian immigrants for ransom.
Finally, the following men were sentenced to death in various cases of inmate murders at federal prisons: Shannon Agofsky, Carlos Caro, co-defendants Wesley Koonce and Charles Hall, and co-defendants Christopher Kramer. Ricky Fackrell, Joseph Ebron and co-defendants Edgar Garcia and Mark Snarr.
Monday's reductions, which join a list of similar actions during Biden's presidential term, have drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and are better than any president in modern history when compared to years of service. It also exceeds that.
Biden earlier this month commuted the sentences of about 1,500 inmates on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 40 others, including his son Hunter. exposed to criticism.
Hunter Biden is all smiles as he leaves Arby's in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. This is the first time President Biden's son has been photographed after being pardoned by his father. (Fox News Digital Image Direct)
According to the Department of Justice, as of December 13, Mr. Biden had pardoned a total of 65 people and commuted the sentences of 1,634 prisoners during his term as president.
“The President has handed down more commutations at this point in his term than any president at the same point in his recent predecessor's first term,” White House officials said in an earlier statement.
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A variety of groups and people, including former corrections officials, praised Biden's decision ahead of the announcement, calling him “courageous” and thanking him for sending a “strong message.” .
In the letter, Biden was asked by 28 former correctional officers to commute the sentences of federal death row inmates for the safety of federal corrections professionals who participate in executions.
“President Biden has made a courageous decision that will benefit many people within the Federal Bureau of Prisons, allowing resources to be more rationally allocated and employees soon facing the harm of participating in executions.” I hope state leaders follow suit. It's in the interest of their own correctional staff,” said Justin Jones, former director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Brian Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, was among those who issued a statement saying the decision “marks an important turning point” and “is a strong signal to the American people that the death penalty is absolutely necessary.” “It sends a message,” he said in part. That is not the answer to our nation's public safety concerns. ”
Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, is one of many to praise President Biden for commuting federal death sentences. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
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Biden did condemn the killers and their “despicable acts” and said he grieved for the victims and families who had suffered “unimaginable and irreparable loss,” but added, “I don't want them to stop.” “We cannot allow the new administration to quietly resume executions.” According to a White House statement.
Biden also said he would use the final weeks of his presidency to “offer meaningful second chances” and “consider additional pardons and commutations.”
