President Joe Biden has come under fire for commuting the sentences of 37 federal inmates on death row, The Hill reported. Some are outraged that Biden has given the worst criminals life without parole in lieu of execution, while others believe he didn't go far enough.
Biden was busy Monday giving a new lease on life to dozens of cold-blooded killers. It was a favor he granted to all but three prisoners awaiting their death sentence.
This tracks with Biden's criteria for imposing a moratorium on executions except for cases of terrorism and mass killings. The men not granted clemency include Dylann Roof, who shot Black parishioners at a church in 2015; Robert D. Bowers, who shot up the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the brothers who bombed the 2013 Boston Marathon.
People who care about law and order are outraged that Biden would show these people mercy they don't deserve. Others believe Biden's move doesn't go far enough as it leaves out the three worst offenders.
Biden explained his thinking in a statement released Monday. "I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system. Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole," Biden began.
"These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. Make no mistake: 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," the president added.
"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. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted," he added.
Many who are on the side of criminals lauded this decision. Anthony Romero, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said that Biden will be remembered as "a leader who stands for racial justice, humanity and morality."
The Equal Justice Initiative applauded the move as a "turning point in the history of capital punishment in the United States." Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights president and CEO Maya Wiley called Biden "courageous" for this decision.
While leftists celebrated Biden's decision to save the lives of murderers, others rightly excoriated Biden for the decision not to consider the victims in this decision. According to Fox News, that included the family of Donna Major, whose killer was one of those granted clemency.
"I was angry. I'm still angry," Major's adult daughter, Heather Turner, said Tuesday.
"I am upset that this is even happening, that one man can make this decision without even talking to the victims, without any regard for what we've been through, what we're going through, and completely hurt, frustrated and angry," she added. The family was informed just two days before Christmas that her killer, Brandon Council, would be spared the death penalty.
Meanwhile, others were upset that Biden didn't do the same for all 40 prisoners. "If you’re going to commute 37 and not 40 – now you’re playing judge, President Biden," Rev. Sharon Risher, whose mother and two cousins were murdered by Roof, said.
The death penalty exists to punish the most heinous crimes and keep those who commit them from ever doing it again. Biden has once again sided with the worst people in the world while forgetting the victims.
