Biden spares 37 inmates from death row including child killers in latest act of clemency days before Christmas

PRESIDENT Joe Biden is to commute the sentences of 37 inmates on death row, including child killers, just weeks before leaving office. 

The outgoing commander-in-chief’s latest act comes just weeks after he commuted 1,500 sentences and pardoned 39 others in what was the largest single-day act of clemency. 

AFP

Joe Biden is to commute the sentences of a raft of death row inmates[/caption]

Biden has vowed to get rid of the death penalty, 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. 

“In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” he said.

It means that the convicts will have their sentences 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.

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.

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.

FBI

Thomas Steven Sanders kidnapped and then shot 12-year-Lexis Roberts four times and cut her throat in Louisiana in 2010.[/caption]

supplied

Jorge Avila Torrez was convicted over the deaths of two girls[/caption]

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