President Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly all inmates on federal death row, a move that comes less than two weeks after the “largest one-day grant of clemency” in American history, the White House announced Monday.
According to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, of the 40 inmates on federal death row, Biden is commuting 37 men sentenced to death, downgrading their sentences to life in prison 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 that 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-deceased brother to perpetuate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.
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The men, who were again sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, are convicted of various murders against one or more people. The 37 men’s victims include police officers, children and other inmates.
A handful of the men sentenced to death were also scheduled to be executed along with their co-defendants.
Biden, who supports the federal death penalty only for “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” said the move would prevent President-elect Donald Trump’s administration from “carrying out the execution sentences that would not be imposed under current policy.” and practice,” the White House statement said.
The president declared a moratorium on federal executions after taking office in 2021.
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Convicted murderers now escaping execution include: Marcivicci Barnette, who killed a man and his ex-girlfriend in a carjacking; co-defendants Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who kidnapped and killed a woman after escaping from prison; Anthony Battle, who killed a prison guard; Jason Brown, who stabbed a postal worker; Thomas Hager, who committed a drug-related murder; David Runyon, who was involved in the murder conspiracy against a naval officer; Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and killed a 12-year-old girl; Rejon Taylor, who kidnapped, kidnapped and killed a restaurant owner; and Alejandro Umana, who killed two brothers in a restaurant.
Two men were on death row for killing witnesses: police officer Len Davis, who ordered the killing of a witness who was part of an investigation into a misconduct complaint against him, and Ronald Mikos, who killed a federal witness in a case. Grand jury killed Medicare fraud probe.
Former Marine Jorge Torrez was scheduled to be executed for killing another soldier.
The list also includes men who have 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 tellers; and Daryl Lawrence, who killed a special constable during an attempted bank robbery.
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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, as did co-defendants Ricardo Sanchez Jr. and Daniel Troya, who killed a family, including two children.
Drug lord Kaboni Savage murdered or hired someone else to murder 12 people in 16 years – including an arson attack that killed six members of a federal informant’s family.
Edward Fields was on death row for murdering two campers on federal land, while Marvin Gabrion and Richard Jackson were both on death row for killing a woman on federal land in separate cases.
Co-defendants Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel were convicted of kidnapping and murdering five Russian and Georgian immigrants for ransom.
Ultimately, the following men were sentenced to death in separate 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-defendant Edgar Garcia and Mark Snarr.
Monday’s commutations join Biden’s list of similar moves during his presidency that have drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers on both sides and, in terms of length of service, have surpassed any president in modern history.
Biden faced criticism earlier this month when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 prisoners held at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 40 others, including his son Hunter.
As of December 13, Biden has pardoned a total of 65 people and commuted sentences for 1,634 inmates during his time as president, according to the Justice Department.
“The President has made more 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 an earlier statement.
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Various groups and people, including former correctional officers, praised Biden’s decision before the public announcement, calling him “courageous” and thanking him for sending a “strong message.”
Biden was urged in a letter by 28 former correctional officers to commute sentences on federal death row to ensure the safety of federal correctional officers involved in executions.
“President Biden has made a bold decision that will benefit many in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Resources can be allocated more rationally and staff will not as quickly face the harm of attending executions. “I hope state leaders follow this example and benefit from 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, among other things, that this decision “represents an important turning point” and sends a “strong message to Americans that the “The death penalty is not the answer to our country’s public safety concerns.”
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Biden said he condemned the killers and their “despicable acts” and mourned the victims and families who suffered “unimaginable and irreparable losses,” but he “cannot allow a new administration to resume the executions that I stopped.” “said the statement from the White House.
It also said Biden would use the final weeks of his presidency to “create meaningful second chances” and “explore additional pardons and commutations.”