President Biden commutes the sentences of 37 federal inmates

President Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly all inmates on death row, a move that comes less than two weeks after receiving the “biggest one-day grant” in American history, the White House announced Monday.

Of the 40 inmates on the federal death row, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, Biden commutes 37 men on death row, commuting their sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The three inmates not included are: Robert Bowers, responsible for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, which left 11 dead; Dylann Roof, the White supremacist who killed nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his late brother to carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds.

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The men were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and were convicted of different crimes of killing one or more people. Among the victims of these 37 men are law enforcement officers, children and other prisoners.

A number of men on death row are also expected to be executed along with their co-defendants.

Biden, who only supports the death penalty at the federal level for “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” said the measure would prevent the Donald Trump administration from “imposing sentences that cannot be imposed under current policy and practice,” according to a White House statement.

The president announced a moratorium on executions after taking office in 2021.

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Convicted murderers who will now escape execution include: Marcivicchi Barnette, who killed a man in a carjacking incident and his ex-girlfriend; 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 and killed a postal worker; Thomas Hager, who committed drug-related murder; David Runyon, who participated in the attempted murder of a Navy SEAL; Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and killed a 12-year-old girl; Rajon Taylor, who stole a car, kidnapped and killed a restaurant owner; and Alejandro Umana, who killed two brothers in a restaurant.

The state prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, houses the majority of convicted murderers on America’s death row. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Two men are on death row for murdering 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 key jury witness. Medicare fraud investigation.

Former Marine Jorge Torrez was to be executed for killing another service member.

This list includes men who committed deadly bank robberies, such as Billie Allen and Norris Holder, who killed a bank guard during the crime; Brandon Council, who killed two bank employees; and Daryl Lawrence, who killed a special operations officer during an attempted bank robbery.

This Sept. 12, 2017 booking photo from the Florence County Detention Center shows Brandon Council, who was sentenced to death for killing two bank employees during a bank robbery. (Florence County Detention Center via AP)

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Defendants James Roane, Jr., and Richard Tipton committed a series of drug-related murders as gang members with Corey Johnson, who was killed in 2021.

Julius Robinson killed two people because of drugs, as well as defendants Ricardo Sanchez, Jr., and Daniel Troya, who killed a family, including two children.

Drug lord Kaboni Savage killed or ordered someone else to kill 12 people over a 16-year period – including burning to death six members of a family of government informants.

Philadelphia drug dealer Kaboni Savage has been convicted of murdering or directing 12 people, including the bombing of the home of a state witness. Four children and two adults died in this incident. (FBI)

Edward Fields was on death row for murdering two people who lived in camps in the world, while Marvin Gabion and Richard Jackson were both on death row for murdering a woman on federal land for separate crimes.

Defendants Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel were convicted of kidnapping and killing five Russian and Georgian immigrants for ransom.

Ultimately, the following men were sentenced to death in separate murders of a federal inmate: Shannon Agofsky, Carlos Caro, co-defendants Wesley Coonce and Charles Hall, co-defendants Christopher Cramer and Ricky Fackrell, Joseph Ebron and other inmates. Edgar Garcia and Mark Snarr.

Monday’s move joins Biden’s list of similar moves during his presidency, which have sparked mixed reactions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and surpassed any president in modern history by length of service.

Biden faced criticism earlier this month when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 prisoners under house arrest during the COVID-19 crisis and pardoned 40 others, including his son, Hunter.

Hunter Biden flashes a big smile as he leaves an Arby’s in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. It was the first time President Biden’s son has been photographed after being pardoned by his father. (Fox News Digital Direct Image)

As of December 13, Biden has pardoned 65 people and commuted the sentences of 1,634 prisoners during his time as president, according to the Justice Department.

“The President has issued more sentences in this presidency than any of his predecessors during the same period when they started,” White House officials said in a previous statement.

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Various groups and individuals, including former corrections officials, praised Biden’s decision ahead of the public announcement, calling him “courageous” and thanking him for sending a “strong message.”

Biden was urged by 28 corrections officials in the letter to change the sentences on death row to protect prison professionals who participate in sentencing.

“President Biden has made a bold decision that will benefit many within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Resources can be allocated in a more rational way, and staff will not face the consequences of complicity in executions anytime soon. I hope state leaders will follow suit, because they have benefited their correctional staff,” said Justin Jones, 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, in part, that the decision “marks an important turning point” and sends “a strong message to the American people that the death penalty is not the answer to our country’s public safety concerns.”

Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, is one of many who have praised President Biden for issuing death row sentences. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

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Biden said he condemns the killers and their “heinous acts,” and mourns the victims and families who suffered “irreparable loss,” but “cannot stand back and allow the new administration to re-sentence the people I have put in place,” according to a White House statement.

It also said Biden would use the last few weeks of his presidency to “provide meaningful second chances” and “review more pardons and commutations.”