Biden spares 37 inmates from death row including child killers in latest act of clemency days before Christmas
PRESIDENT Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of 37 inmates on death row, including those of child killers – just weeks before leaving office.
The outgoing commander-in-chief’s latest act of leniency comes just weeks after he commuted 1,500 sentences and pardoned 39 others.
Biden has long opposed the death penalty for the majority of crimes, and the commutations mean only three people remain on federal death row.
Some of the sentences commuted include Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and shot Lexis Roberts, 12, four times before cutting her throat.
And Jorge Avila-Torrez was convicted of sexually assaulting and stabbing to death two girls in 2005.
The victims were named as Laura Hobbs, eight, and Krystal Tobias, nine.
Anthony Battle’s sentence was reduced. He killed a prison guard in Atlanta in 1994 while serving time for raping and killing his Marine wife.
In a statement, Biden said he’s more convinced than ever the US must stop using the death penalty.
“He believes that America must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level, except in cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder – which is why today’s actions apply to all but those cases,” the White House said in a statement.
“When President Biden came into office, his Administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions, and his actions today will prevent the next Administration from carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice.”
“In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” the president added.
This means that the convicts’ sentences will be reduced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Only three people remain on federal death row.
Robert Bowers killed 11 people in the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh, which dates back to 2018.
Bowers, a truck driver, was found guilty of all charges in 2023.
Dylann Roof killed nine people in a Charleston, South Carolina, church in 2015.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, remains on federal death row.
No federal death row inmates have been executed on Biden’s watch.
The raft of commutations comes just days after Biden granted clemency to 1,500 people.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, issued 144 pardons over his presidency – 73 of those coming in his final hours in the White House.
FLURRY OF PARDONS
It is tradition for presidents to issue a flurry of pardons before the transfer of power takes place.
Barack Obama issued 212 pardons over two terms, while George W. Bush gave 189 over his eight years in the White House.
Biden shattered the history books as the figure is the most ever in US history.
Those who had their sentences commuted were those put on home confinement during the Covid pandemic.
There were 39 pardons for those convicted of non-violent crimes.
Biden has issued dozens of pardons over his final weeks in office.
But, one of his most controversial acts of clemency was pardoning his son Hunter.
Biden spared Hunter from a possible prison sentence – just days before his punishment was about to be handed down.
Shamed son Hunter faced up to 25 years behind bars.
Hunter was convicted of federal gun charges and was set to be sentenced on December 12.
Hunter also faced a sentencing hearing over his federal tax conviction.
What were the charges against Hunter Biden?
HUNTER Biden was indicted on three felony gun charges in September 2023 after a plea agreement with federal prosecutors unraveled.
Prosecutors claimed that on October 12, 2018, Hunter purchased a .38 Colt Cobra revolver from a Delaware gun store and lied on the ATF firearm form when he said he was not abusing drugs.
These were the charges brought against him:
Count 1: Hunter was charged with “knowingly making a fictitious written statement” on a form used for firearms purchases.
Count 2: Hunter allegedly knowingly made false statements and representations to the Wilmington gun store.
Count 3: Hunter was accused of illegally possession a gun while abusing drugs. He owned the gun for 11 days in 2018.
Hunter faced up to 25 years in prison but he has now been pardoned by his father.
Biden faced a backlash from Democrats and Republicans over the pardon, but claimed his son had been treated differently.
He claimed the case against his son had been politically motivated.
“There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” he said.
“In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here.”
Hunter’s pardon covers crimes he may have committed between 2014 and 2024.