President Biden is thinking about commuting the death sentences of most of the 40 men currently on federal death row for murder. This includes some well-known killers, with a few having murdered children, fellow inmates, or a prison guard. Attorney General Merrick Garland has suggested that the sentences be changed to life imprisonment for all but a few cases.
The report does not specify which prisoners may still face the death penalty, but it could include individuals like Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at a synagogue in 2018, and Dylann Roof, who murdered nine black churchgoers in 2015. The Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who killed three people and injured many more in 2013, is also on death row.
Garland's recommendations can give the president a basis to make difficult decisions, although the White House stated that no final decision has been made yet. It is unclear how these new sentences would affect ongoing cases, such as the trial of Payton Gendron, accused of killing ten in a racially motivated mass shooting in 2022.
Among those on federal death row are Kaboni Savage, who ordered the deaths of 12 people, including children, and Thomas Sanders, who kidnapped and murdered a young girl. Other notable cases include Iouri Mikhel, who killed five people in a kidnapping, and Jorge Avila-Torrez, who murdered two girls and a naval officer.
Recently, Biden has granted numerous controversial pardons and commutation of sentences. This includes a blanket pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, who pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges. Biden also commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals who had been released during the COVID-19 pandemic. This action stirred controversy as it included individuals like Josephine Gray, known as the "Black Widow," who killed two of her husbands and Rita Crundwell, a former city official who stole a large sum from her town.
The White House has been contacted for a comment regarding these developments.
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