President Joe Biden recently commuted the death sentences of 37 inmates, sparking significant backlash.
On December 23, 2024, the president transformed these death row sentences into life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, upsetting many victims' families and law enforcement agencies, the Daily Caller reported.
Several individuals whose sentences were commuted had involvement in high-profile murder cases. For instance, authorities convicted Jorge Avilia-Torrez for the murder of an eight-year-old girl, her nine-year-old friend, and a naval officer years later.
Kathleen Zellner, who represented another individual wrongly accused of these murders, harshly criticized the president's decision.
Marissa Gibson, the widow of Ohio police officer Bryan Hurst, who was killed by death row inmate Daryl Lawrence, expressed deep distress over the decision. She felt it showed blatant disregard for the judicial processes that had originally convicted these criminals.
Similarly, the Fraternal Order of Police in Columbus, Ohio, described it as a neglect of their efforts to uphold the law. They view the commutation of sentences for such convicts as a slight to their hard work and dedication to securing justice.
From Conway, South Carolina, where several commutations occurred, the local government emphasized how these decisions reopen old wounds. They highlighted how such executive decisions, made unilaterally, seemingly disenfranchise the efforts of the federal court system.
Kathleen Zellner’s reaction was one of the strongest:
How dare President Biden commute the death sentence of Jorge Avilia-Torrez who viciously sexually assaulted and killed my client, Jerry Hobbs’, 8-year-old daughter Laura, her 9-year-old best friend Krystal Tobias and four years later, 20-year-old Amanda Snell, a naval officer. This is a callous, cruel action by President Biden that reflects how out of touch he is with the American public. There is no justifiable reason for this heartless decision that was carried out recklessly and for the President's own political agenda against the incoming administration.
According to Heather Turner, her contact with the government revealed a systemic oversight concerning victims' perspectives during the pardon process. She claimed her requests for a formal meeting were denied, further highlighting an oversight in considering the victims' and their families' needs and rights during such grave decisions.
President Biden has commuted nearly 1,500 sentences in December 2024 as part of a broader trend, including individuals convicted of offenses ranging from drug trafficking to corruption. However, the pardon he issued to his own son has sparked particular controversy, stirring debates and concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the abuse of presidential clemency powers.
As public reactions pour in, the collective sentiment among those closely impacted by the crimes is strongly negative. They feel let down by a system that should prioritize their needs for closure and justice.
The act of clemency by President Biden, perhaps intended to reflect a broader reevaluation of the death penalty in America, instead sparked a fierce debate about presidential power, justice, and the consideration of victims' rights in the process of executive decision-making.
This story, emblematic of ongoing tensions in American criminal justice reform, foregrounds the delicate balance between forgiveness and justice, bureaucratic decision-making, and the lived realities of individuals affected by crime.
