President Biden commutes sentences of 37 federal death row inmates | Fox News
By: Elizabeth Pritchett (Fox News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy reports on whether President Biden would consider preemptive pardons on 'Special Report.'
President Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly all the inmates on federal death row, a move that comes not even two weeks after he went through with the "largest single-day grant of clemency" in American history, the White House announced Monday.
Of the 40 inmates on federal death row, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, Biden is commuting 37 men sentenced to death, reclassifying their sentences to life without the possibility of parole.
The three inmates not included are: Robert Bowers, who is responsible for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, which left 11 people 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-dead brother to perpetuate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.
President Biden is commuting the sentences for 37 of the 40 convicted murderers on federal death row, reclassifying them to life in prison without parole ahead of the Trump administration taking over.(Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
The men being resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole are convicted of various murderous acts against one person or multiple. Among the victims of the 37 men are law enforcement officers, children and other inmates.
A handful of the men on death row were also set to be executed with their co-defendants.
Biden, who only supports the death penalty at the federal level for "terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder," said this move will prevent President-elect Donald Trump's administration from "carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice," according to the White House statement.
The president declared a moratorium on federal executions after taking office in 2021.
The convicted murderers who will now escape execution include: Marcivicci Barnette, who killed a man in a carjacking and his ex-girlfriend; co-defendants Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who kidnapped and killed a woman after escaping prison; Anthony Battle, who killed a prison guard; Jason Brown, who stabbed a postal worker to death; Thomas Hager, who committed a drug-related killing; David Runyon, who participated in the murder-for-hire plot of a Naval officer; Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and killed a 12-year-old girl; Rejon Taylor, who carjacked, 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 America's federal death row.(AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Two men were on death row for the murders of witnesses: police officer Len Davis, who ordered the murder of a witness who was part of an investigation into a misconduct complaint against him, and Ronald Mikos, who killed a federal grand jury witness in a Medicare fraud investigation.
Ex-Marine Jorge Torrez was set to be executed for killing another servicemember.
The list also includes men who committed deadly bank robberies, such as co-defendants Billie Allen and Norris Holder, who killed a bank guard during their crime; Brandon Council, who killed two bank employees; and Daryl Lawrence, who killed a special-duty police officer during an attempted bank robbery.
This Sept. 12, 2017 booking photo 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)
Co-defendants James Roane, Jr., and Richard Tipton committed a series of drug-related murders as gang members with Corey Johnson, who was executed in 2021.
Julius Robinson killed two people over drugs, and so did co-defendants Ricardo Sanchez, Jr., and Daniel Troya, who killed a family, including two children.
Drug lord Kaboni Savage murdered or directed someone else to murder 12 people during a 16-year period - including an arson that killed six members of a federal informant's family.
Philadelphia drug lord Kaboni Savage was convicted of committing or directing 12 murders, including one that involved firebombing the home of a federal witness. Four children and two adults were killed in the act.(FBI)
Edward Fields was on death row for murdering two campers on federal land, while Marvin Gabrion and Richard Jackson were both there for killing a woman on federal land in separate cases.
Co-defendants Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel were convicted of kidnapping and killing five Russian and Georgian immigrants for ransom.
Lastly, the following men were sentenced to death in various cases for killing a prisoner in federal prison: Shannon Agofsky, Carlos Caro, co-defendants Wesley Coonce and Charles Hall, co-defendants Christopher Cramer and Ricky Fackrell, 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 sparked mixed reactions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and have outpaced any president in modern history when compared to length of service.
Biden faced criticism earlier this month when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 prisoners placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 40 others, including his son, Hunter.
Hunter Biden flashes a big smile as he leaves an Arby's in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. This was the first time that President Biden's son was photographed after he was pardoned by his father.(The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
As of Dec. 13, Biden has pardoned a total of 65 individuals and commuted sentences for 1,634 inmates during his time as president, according to the Department of Justice.
"The President has issued more sentence commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms," White House officials said in a previous statement.
Various groups and people, including former corrections officials, praised Biden's decision ahead of the public announcement, calling him "courageous" and thanking him for sending a "strong message."
Biden was urged by 28 former corrections officials in a letter to commute sentences 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 follow suit, for the benefit of their own correctional staff," said Justin Jones, the former Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, was also 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 not the answer to our country's concerns about public safety."
Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative founder and executive director, is one of many to commend President Biden for commuting federal death row sentences.(Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Biden said he does condemn the murderers and their "despicable acts," and he grieves for the victims and families who have suffered "unimaginable and irreparable loss," but he "cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted," according to the White House statement.
It also said Biden will use the last few weeks of his presidency to "provide meaningful second chances" and "review additional pardons and commutations."
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The no one's above the law president turns out to be just another criminal cock sucking fanboy.
You feel that way every time a jury chooses not to go for the death penalty, or is this just another partisan rant?
Well Ozzy, if a jury doesn't find the death penalty appropriate that is based on evidence, in this case the jury found them guilty and imposed the sentence, so Biden is overruling the juries verdict.
If you continue to troll your comments will be deleted.
Nope. Guilty or not guilty is based on the evidence, that's it. Trying for the death penalty is based on the local DA's personal choice. Death penalty (to the best of my knowledge since states differ) may be recommended for certain crimes, but not required.
Correct, based on the evidence.
Based on if they believed it was appropriate.
No. Verdict was guilty or not guilty, THAT WAS THE JURY'S VERDICT.
I'm sorry if you feel that disagreeing with you is trolling. It is also very difficult to be considered a troll by asking a single, related question.
Considering none of the prisoners we are talking about here will ever be free, I'm not sure what you are talking about. Under the Dems they would never have been put to death anyway and commuting their death sentences is in line with that platform.
I'm not saying it's right, or wrong. I'd have to review each and every case to make that determination and I'm not going to do that. I'm just saying it's within the President's prerogative to do so and generally in the area of Dem anti-death penalty ideals.
When Trump let's those J6 prisoners go I'm sure many of the people here will feel differently - pro will become con and vise versa.
Then why didn't he commute all of them?
What?...
Different circumstances.
Trump vows to pardon Jan. 6 defendants on Day One
Lol.
How so? They all are on Death Row...
Do you equate them with murderers?
Perhaps you should ask him.
Right, so you can't think of a reasonable answer either...
So you feel the circumstances are identical between them all?
We all know Biden doesn't have the mental capacity for such acts. So it makes me wonder who is really pulling the strings.
Prove it.
You are kidding.....right?
You realize there will be no evidence forthcoming?
You want me to prove the mental capacity of the POTUS deemed unfit to stand trial for classified documents violations?
Who deemed him as such? Please include a link to that determination.
You don't really pay attention do you?
And you don't even read your own linked articles. But, in a nutshell. A right wing investigator with no training, education, or experience in any related field to psychology or even general medicine claimed that Biden has a poor memory.
Or to quote from your article:
So apparently Robert Hur expected perfect memory from multiple events which occurred numerous years ago. MAGA!!!
No. You don't pay attention.Time to move along.
Well, it saves money. It costs substantially more to have a prisoner on death row. The incoming administration should appreciate that.
And what do you think costs more? How much does it cost to leave them in prison for the rest of their natural-born lives? At least with the death penalty that money flow stops. And society wipes its brow with a "phewwww".
I believe a number of the people whose sentence he commuted killed people while in prison.
Every aspect of it costs more.
Just prosecuting the case costs more. Death trials are usually longer and more expensive. There are extra legal safeguards in place. Death-specific procedures are held, including extra hearings, arguments, evidence, and so on.
The appeals process is never-ending. Just at look at this Boston bomber guy mentioned in the seed. That happened almost 12 years ago. Even up to the final hour, there are appeals available. Along the way, taxpayers pay for both sides of this process.
While we’re waiting for an execution that may never come, incarcerating these guys can cost 2-10X what it does for a regular inmate. They are usually housed in separate facilities, with substantially more security.
And when/if you finally get to the execution, that costs money. They build special facilities just for that, with unique equipment or drugs. Special staff are hired. Special security is again in place. Along the way, there are never ending - and expensive - legal battles over what kind of execution satisfies the 8th Amendment.
And all this for what?
The death penalty is arguably the single most inefficient use of our justice resources.