“We Will Show Them” President Joe Biden Commutes Death Sentences of 37 Convicted Murderers, Including Child Killers and Cop Killers
In a shocking move during the final weeks of his presidency, President Joe Biden granted clemency to 37 of the 40 prisoners currently on federal death row by commuting their sentences to life in prison without parole. Among those who received the President’s commutation were multiple child murderers and cop killers who had been sentenced to death.
The White House announced the clemency grants in a press release on Monday, with President Biden stating, “I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole.” Biden cited his own “conscience” and experience as a public defender as the basis for his decision. The President has long been an opponent of the death penalty.
Some of the most egregious cases include Thomas Steven Sanders, who in 2014 kidnapped and murdered a 12-year-old girl, shooting her four times and cutting her throat. Ricardo Sanchez Jr. and Daniel Troya, co-defendants who killed an entire family including two children, also had their death sentences commuted.
Additionally, capital punishment was commuted for Daryl Lawrence, who in 2006 gunned down a police officer during a bank robbery in Ohio as well as Anthony Battle. While already in prison for raping and murdering his Marine wife in 1987, Battle killed a correctional officer with a hammer in 1994.
Other notable cases include Jorge Avila-Torrez, who in 2005 sexually assaulted and stabbed to death two girls aged 8 and 9 before going on to murder Navy officer Amanda Snell in Virginia in 2009. Avila-Torrez strangled Snell to death while she slept in her barracks.
Kaboni Savage, a drug dealer convicted of killing 12 people in Philadelphia, including four children, was another recipient of the President’s clemency. And Iouri Mikhel, who kidnapped and murdered five immigrants for ransom in 2005 after receiving payment, will no longer face execution.
In his statement, President Biden added that the commutations given to 37 of the 40 prisoners were “consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.” The three who will still be put to death include Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for the Boston Marathon bombing, Robert Bowers for the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, and Dylan Roof for the massacre at a South Carolina church.
Many are shocked by President Biden’s sweeping move to spare the lives of so many convicted murderers. Critics argue it is a slap in the face to the victims and their families. The President’s opponents claim it is the latest instance of his soft-on-crime policies. Supporters praise it as a necessary and long-overdue end to the inhumane practice of capital punishment.
Under Biden, the Justice Department has not carried out any federal executions since he took office. The President has called for Congress to repeal the death penalty at the federal level. This decision brings the U.S. more in line with most other developed countries that have abolished capital punishment. But for the families of the victims, it is little comfort
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