(C) Georgia Recorder
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Biden commutes nearly all federal death sentences • Georgia Recorder [1]
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Date: 2024-12-23
President Joe Biden commuted the sentences on Monday of 37 death row inmates, citing his conscience as a force behind the decision. He also left the death sentences unchanged for three men charged with hate-motivated mass shootings and terrorism.
Biden, who imposed a moratorium on federal executions during his administration, commuted the death sentences to life sentences without the possibility of parole, saying in a statement that he’s dedicated his career “to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system.”
“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden said.
“But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”
Georgia Two of the death row inmates - Anthony George Battle and Meier Jason Brown - are serving time for murders committed in Georgia.
The three men Biden left on death row Monday include Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, sentenced in 2015 of bombing the Boston Marathon in 2013; Dylann Roof, sentenced in 2017 of fatally shooting nine members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina; and Robert Bowers, sentenced in 2023 for the deadly shooting in 2018 that killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
The president’s commutations Monday come after he commuted the sentences on Dec. 12 of 1,500 people who were placed in home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic. He also granted pardons for 39 individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes.
Biden received criticism from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and others for including among the mass commutations a Pennsylvania judge convicted in 2011 of sending children to prison in exchange for millions of dollars in kickbacks from a private jail — a crime that became known in the commonwealth as the “Cash for Kids” scheme.
Advocates for abolishing the death penalty and some U.S. House Democrats had pressured Biden to commute death penalty sentences ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Trump expedited some executions during his first term.
According to the White House, the names of the death row inmates whose sentences were commuted Monday are:
Shannon Wayne Agofsky
Billie Jerome Allen
Aquilia Marcivicci Barnette
Brandon Leon Basham
Anthony George Battle
Meier Jason Brown
Carlos David Caro
Wesley Paul Coonce, Jr.
Brandon Michael Council
Christopher Emory Cramer
Len Davis
Joseph Ebron
Ricky Allen Fackrell
Edward Leon Fields, Jr.
Chadrick Evan Fulks
Marvin Charles Gabrion, II
Edgar Baltazar Garcia
Thomas Morocco Hager
Charles Michael Hall
Norris G. Holder
Richard Allen Jackson
Jurijus Kadamovas
Daryl Lawrence
Iouri Mikhel
Ronald Mikos
James H. Roane, Jr.
Julius Omar Robinson
David Anthony Runyon
Ricardo Sanchez, Jr.
Thomas Steven Sanders
Kaboni Savage
Mark Isaac Snarr
Rejon Taylor
Richard Tipton
Jorge Avila Torrez
Daniel Troya
Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umaña
Last updated 11:44 a.m., Dec. 23, 2024
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