Biden spares federal death row inmates: Killers target sailors, young girls, law enforcement officers
Federal death row inmates whose sentences were commuted by President Biden have killed victims at all levels of American society, from sailors to children as young as 8 years old.
Biden announced on Monday that he would commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole because he is “more convinced than ever that we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”
“Make no mistake about it: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and feel pain for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable losses,” Biden added. “In good conscience, I cannot “Stand back and let the new administration resume the executions I stopped.”
One of those who survived was Jorge Avila-Torrez, a Marine Corps veteran killed in a July 2009 slaying at a military barracks in Arlington, Virginia. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Amanda Snell was found guilty.
Democratic ‘squad’ praises Biden for sparing killer ‘racist’ death penalty
Federal prosecutors said Avila-Torrez admitted to an inmate that he “entered Snell’s room through an unlocked door, jumped on her while she slept in her bed, and used the laptop’s The power cord was tied around her wrists and the remaining rope was used to strangle her.” rope. ”
A few years later, Avila-Torrez admitted to stabbing 8-year-old Laura Hobbs and 9-year-old Crystal Tobias to death on Mother’s Day in Zion, Illinois, in 2005, a judge told He is a “serial killer”.
Another inmate Biden pardoned was Daryl Lawrence, who was convicted of the 2005 killing of Columbus police officer Bryan Hurst.
The Justice Department, which awarded Hearst the Medal of Valor posthumously, said Hearst was performing special duties at a bank when a masked gunman broke in and the two exchanged gunfire.
“Despite being fatally wounded, Hurst walked around the counter and shot the suspect before he fell to the ground. Authorities arrested the shooter days later when he sought medical attention at a Washington, D.C., hospital,” the statement added. . “Officer Hurst’s quick actions, extraordinary courage and perseverance protected the lives of many people at the bank.”
Biden commutes 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 more: ‘Biggest pardons in a single day’
Thomas Sanders will also no longer face the federal death penalty, although he was convicted in 2010 of the “brutal kidnapping and murder” of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts.
In that case, prosecutors say Sanders was dating Roberts’ mother, Suellen Roberts, who was shot and killed near Arizona’s Interstate 40 during a Labor Day weekend trip to a safari park near the Grand Canyon. hit Roberts’ head. He then forced Lexis into his car and held her captive while driving east.
“Sanders drove across the country for several days before murdering Lexis Roberts in a wooded area in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana,” the Justice Department said. “Evidence at trial showed that Sanders offered Lexis a Roberts shot her four times, slit her throat and left her body in the woods, where a hunter discovered her body on October 8, 2010.
Other former inmates on federal death row include Alejandro Umana, an MS-13 gang member who was killed in Greensboro, North Carolina, in December 2007. A restaurant shot and killed brothers Ruben Garcia Salinas and Manuel Garcia Salinas because they “disrespected” his gang sign Call them ‘fake,'” federal prosecutors said.
Anthony Battle also survived the 1994 slaying of prison guard D’Antonio Andrew Washington with a ball-peen hammer at a high-security prison in Atlanta.
Amnesty International USA, a supporter of Biden’s decision, said on Monday that “the death penalty is the most cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment” and that Biden’s move was “an important moment for human rights”.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“With the stroke of a pen, the president has locked in his legacy as a leader who stands for racial justice, humanity and morality,” added ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero. “This will undoubtedly be the defining moment of a Biden presidency. One of the pioneering achievements.”