President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment on Monday, citing his opposition to the death penalty and his extensive experience in the justice system.
“I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden stated. “But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”
Republican lawmakers sharply criticized the decision. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said, “When given the choice between law-abiding Americans or criminals, Joe Biden and the Democrats choose criminals every time.”
As Biden prepares to leave office on January 20, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump has promised to reinstate and expand federal executions. During his 2024 campaign, Trump stated his administration would apply the death penalty to drug dealers responsible for distributing substances like fentanyl. His first term saw 13 federal executions, the first since 2003.
The 37 Commuted Inmates
Among those whose sentences were commuted by Biden are:
• Shannon Wayne Agofsky
• Billie Jerome Allen
• Aquilia Marcivicci Barnette
• Brandon Leon Basham
• Anthony George Battle
• Meier Jason Brown
• Carlos David Caro
• Wesley Paul Coonce Jr.
• Brandon Michael Council
• Christopher Emory Cramer
• Len Davis
• Joseph Ebron
• Rickey Allen Fackrell
• Edward Leon Fields Jr.
• Chadrick Evan Fulks
• Marvin Charles Gabrion II
• Edgar Baltazar Garcia
• Thomas Morocco Hager
• Charles Michael Hall
• Norris G. Holder
• Richard Allen Jackson
• Jurijus Kadamovas
• Daryl Lawrence
• Iouri Mikhel
• Ronald Mikos
• James H. Roane Jr.
• Julius Omar Robinson
• David Anthony Runyon
• Ricardo Sanchez Jr.
• Thomas Steven Sanders
• Kaboni Savage
• Mark Isaac Snarr
• Rejon Taylor
• Richard Tipton
• Jorge Avila Torrez
• Daniel Troya
• Alejandro Enrique Ramies Umana
Notable Cases
• Kaboni Savage: A former organized crime leader convicted for the deaths of 12 people, including four children, during his drug operations in Philadelphia. He was the first man in modern Philadelphia history to receive the federal death penalty.
• Thomas Steven Sanders: Sentenced for the 2010 kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana after killing her mother in Arizona.
• Daniel Troya and Ricardo Sanchez Jr.: Convicted of murdering a family, including two young children, in a drug-related crime.
• Iouri Mikhel and Jurijus Kadamovas: Sentenced for a series of kidnappings and killings for ransom, targeting Georgian and Russian immigrants.
• Len Davis: A former New Orleans police officer convicted of orchestrating the murder of a woman who had filed a brutality complaint against him.
• Brandon Michael Council: Convicted of killing two women during a bank robbery.
• Billie Jerome Allen: Convicted in a bank robbery that resulted in the murder of a security guard.
Federal Death Row Still Active
Following Biden’s commutations, three inmates remain on federal death row:
• Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 2013 Boston Marathon bomber.
• Dylann Roof, convicted for the 2015 massacre of nine churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina.
• Robert Bowers, responsible for killing 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018.
Biden’s decision underscores his consistent stance on abolishing the federal death penalty, a position that contrasts sharply with his successor’s plans.
