President Biden caused a stir on Monday when he commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 men on federal death row, including notorious criminals like child killers and mass murderers, just days before Christmas. The move was seen as a significant act of clemency, reflecting Biden’s stance against the death penalty and his efforts to ensure a fair and effective justice system. Despite condemning the actions of these criminals, Biden emphasized his belief in halting the death penalty at the federal level, drawing on his experience as a public defender and various roles in government.
The recipients of Biden’s clemency included individuals like Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and killed 12-year-old Lexis Roberts after murdering her mother, and Anthony Battle, who murdered a prison guard with a hammer while already serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of his wife. Other cases involved Jorge Avila-Torrez, who sexually assaulted and killed two young girls in Chicago and later strangled a naval officer. While Biden did not explicitly mention why he viewed the original penalties as unjust, he converted their death sentences to life in prison without parole.
Among the recipients of Biden’s clemency was Iouri Mikhel, who was convicted of murdering five immigrants after kidnapping them for ransom, Kaboni Savage, who was involved in the deaths of 12 people including children as a drug dealer in Philadelphia, and James Roane, Jr., who participated in murdering 11 people as a drug dealer in Virginia. Notably, three individuals on federal death row did not receive commutations, including high-profile cases like Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers, and Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof.
In addition to the commutations of the death row inmates, Biden had previously issued other acts of clemency, such as pardoning his son Hunter Biden for federal gun felonies and tax fraud, and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals who had been temporarily released from prison during the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions included individuals like Josephine Gray, known as the “Black Widow,” for killing multiple partners, and Rita Crundwell for embezzling millions of dollars as a town comptroller. Despite these pardons and commutations, Biden faced backlash for failing to honor his promise to release individuals incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses.
Critics of Biden’s clemency actions included cannabis activists who were dismayed by his refusal to release those imprisoned for marijuana-related crimes, despite his campaign promise in 2019 to do so. Shortly before the 2022 midterm elections, Biden’s mass pardon for individuals convicted of simple marijuana possession, who were not currently incarcerated, was criticized as a “slap in the face” to those still serving time for such offenses. The series of controversial clemency decisions has raised questions about Biden’s approach to criminal justice reform and his use of executive powers as president.
