President Biden The US President is commuting the sentences of nearly all federal death row inmates, the White House announced on Monday, a move that comes less than two weeks after he went through the “largest single-day clemency grant” in American history.
Of the 40 inmates on federal death row, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 men on death row, reclassifying their sentences to life without parole.
The three inmates not included are: Robert Bowers, responsible for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, which left 11 dead; Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his now-deceased brother to perpetuate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.
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President Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 of 40 convicted killers on federal death row, reclassifying them to life without parole before the Trump administration took office. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/archive photo)
Men sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole are guilty of various acts of murder against one or several people. The 37 men's victims included law enforcement officers, children and other prisoners.
A handful of men were on death row as well scheduled to be implemented With the other defendants.
Biden, who only supports the death penalty at the federal level for “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” said the move would prevent President-elect Donald Trump's administration from “carrying out death sentences that would not be imposed under current policy.” And practice,” according to a White House statement.
The president announced a moratorium on federal executions after taking office in 2021.
The convicted killers who will now escape execution are: Marcevici Barnett, who killed a man in a carjacking and his ex-girlfriend; Co-defendants Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fowlkes, who kidnapped and killed a woman after escaping from prison; Anthony Battle, who killed a prison guard; Jason Brown, who stabbed a postal worker to death; Thomas Hager, who committed a drug-related murder; David Runyon, who participated in a plot to murder a naval officer for hire; Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and murdered a 12-year-old girl; Rejon Taylor, who stole a car and kidnapped and killed a restaurant owner; And Alejandro Umana, who killed two brothers inside a restaurant.
The federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, houses most of the convicted murderers on federal death row in America. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Two men were awaiting execution Killing witnesses: Police Officer Len Davis, who ordered the killing of a witness who was part of the investigation into a misconduct complaint against him, and Ronald Mikus, who killed a federal grand jury witness in a Medicare fraud investigation.
Former Marine Jorge Torrez was scheduled to be executed for killing another soldier.
The list also includes men who have committed suicide deadly bank robbery, Like co-defendants Billy Allen and Norris Holder, who killed a bank guard during their crime; Brandon Council, who killed two bank employees; and Darrell Lawrence, who killed a special duty police officer during an attempted bank robbery.
This booking photo taken on September 12, 2017 from the Florence County Detention Center shows Brandon Council, who was sentenced to death for killing two bank employees during a bank robbery. (Florence County Detention Center via AP)
Defendants James Rowan, Jr. and Richard Tipton committed a series of crimes Drug-related homicides As gang members with Corey Johnson, who was executed in 2021.
Julius Robinson killed two people due to drug use, as did his co-defendants, Ricardo Sanchez, Jr., and Daniel Troya, who killed a family, including two children.
Drug lord Capone Savage killed or directed another to kill 12 people over a 16-year period — including an arson attack that killed six members of a federal informant's family.
Philadelphia drug lord Capone Savage was convicted of committing or directing 12 murders, including firebombing the home of a federal witness. Four children and two adults were killed in this action. (FBI)
Edward Fields was on death row for killing two campers on federal land, while Marvin Gabrion and Richard Jackson were there for killing a woman on federal land in separate cases.
Co-defendants Yorgos Kadamovas and Yuri Mikhail were convicted of kidnapping and murdering five Russian and Georgian immigrants for ransom.
Finally, the following men were sentenced to death in various cases for the murder of a federal prison inmate: Shannon Agowski, Carlos Caro, co-defendants Wesley Koonce and Charles Hall, co-defendants Christopher Kramer and Ricky Fackrell, and Joseph Ebron and co-defendants. Edgar Garcia and Mark Snarr.
Monday's commutations join Biden's list of similar moves during his presidency, which have drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and outpaced any president in modern history by length of service.
Biden faced criticism earlier this month when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 inmates placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 40 others. Including his son Hunter.
Hunter Biden smiles big as he leaves an Arby's restaurant in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. This was the first time President Biden's son was photographed after his father pardoned him. (Live image by Fox News Digital)
As of December 13, Biden had pardoned a total of 65 individuals and commuted the sentences of 1,634 prisoners during his presidency, according to the Department of Justice.
“The president has issued more lenient sentences at this stage of his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same stage of their first term,” White House officials said in an earlier statement.
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Various groups and people, including former corrections officials, praised Biden's decision ahead of the public announcement, calling it “courageous” and thanking him for sending a “strong message.”
Biden was urged by 28 Former corrections officials In a letter to commute the sentences of those on federal death row for the safety of federal correctional professionals who participate in executions.
“President Biden has made a courageous decision that will benefit many within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Resources can be allocated more rationally, and staff will not face the harm of participating in executions any time soon. I hope state leaders will follow suit, for Prisons in Oklahoma: 'They're taking advantage of their correctional staff.'
Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, was among those who issued a statement, saying, in part, that this decision “marks an important turning point” and sends “a strong message to Americans that the death penalty is the death penalty.” “It is not the answer to our country's concerns about public safety.”
Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, is one of many who have praised President Biden for commuting federal death sentences. (Para Griffin/Getty Images)
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Biden said he condemns the killers and their “despicable actions,” and feels sad for the victims and their families who have suffered “unimaginable and irreparable loss,” but he “cannot stand by and allow a new administration to resume the executions it halted.” According to White House statement.
She also said Biden would use the final few weeks of his presidency to “provide meaningful second chances” and “review additional pardons and commutations.”
