Before he left office, former President Joe Biden abruptly commuted the sentences of a number of death row murderers.
Pam Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, now wants to overturn those rulings and order state officials to pursue the death penalty for the prisoners.
On Wednesday, Bondi addressed the commutes in a letter to DOJ staff members. Biden’s decision to approve the commutes, she claimed in the letter, “undermine[d] our justice system and subvert[ed] the rule of law.”
Bondi wrote, “The commutations also denied the victims’ families the justice that the Department of Justice promised and worked so hard to obtain.” “The following actions must be taken immediately by the Department of Justice in order to bring justice to the families of the 37 commuted murderers.”
Bondi described it as a “important step” toward establishing trust and holding people accountable, saying, “Research opportunities to provide a public forum for the victims’ families to express how the commutations affected them personally,” according to Fox News.
Bondi stated that she would instruct U.S. attorneys’ offices to pursue individuals whose death sentences had been lowered under state law rather than federal law. Only “where appropriate and legally permissible” and “after consultation with the families of the victims and other interested parties” would this take place, she said.
According to Bondi’s letter, “The Capital Case Section shall assist the United States Attorney’s Offices in implementing this directive.”
“Third, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is instructed to make sure that the confinement conditions for each of the 37 commuted murderers are in line with the security risks that those inmates pose due to their serious offenses, criminal records, and all other pertinent factors,” she continued.
Biden removed 37 federal death row inmates in late December and commuted their sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The action would prevent President-elect Donald Trump’s administration from “carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice,” the White House stated at the time.
According to a White House statement at the time, “The President’s criminal justice record has positively impacted communities, particularly historically marginalized communities, and transformed individual lives.” “The President will continue to review additional pardons and commutations and take further actions to provide meaningful second chances in the upcoming weeks.”
Only three mass murderers were left on death row by Biden: Robert Bowers, who in 2018 bombed Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue; Dylann Roof, who murdered nine people at a Charleston, South Carolina, church; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who detonated the bombs at the Boston Marathon.
Bondi gained notoriety last week when the DOJ sued Attorney General Letitia James, Governor Kathy Hochul, and the state of New York for allegedly breaking federal law by providing sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.
At a press conference, Bondi declared, “This is a new DOJ.” “New York has made the decision to give illegal aliens precedence over citizens of the United States.” It comes to an end. Today is the last day.
Additionally charged is Mark Schroeder, commissioner of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Bondi brought up the Driver’s License Act, also known as the Green Light laws in New York, which allow undocumented immigrants to get a driver’s license.
According to the law, some federal agencies are not allowed to access New York State driver’s license data.
“They have green light laws, which means that if they pull over an illegal alien in New York, law enforcement cannot verify their identity,” Bondi explained. Additionally, their background is not accessible to law enforcement. Every day, these wonderful men and women risk their lives when they pull over someone without knowing their background. Therefore, they have no idea who they are dealing with.
“We will hold you accountable if you violate federal law,” Bondi declared. Strike one, we did it to Illinois. New York is the second strike. And you’re next if your state is breaking federal law. Prepare yourself.
The Justice Department requested last week that sanctuary laws in Illinois and Chicago be overturned by a federal judge.