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Federal death row inmates whose lives were spared by President Biden after he commuted their sentence they killed victims in all aspects of American society, from sailors to children as young as 8 years old.
Biden announced Monday that he commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 federal death row inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole because he is “more convinced than ever that we must stop the death penalty at the federal level.”
“Make no mistake: I condemn these killers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and grieve for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden added. “In good conscience, I cannot stand down and allow the new administration to continue the executions that I stopped.”
Among those spared are Jorge Avila-Torrez, a marine veteran convicted of killing Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Amanda Snell at her barracks in Arlington, Virginia, in July 2009.
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Federal prosecutors said Avila-Torrez admitted to an inmate that he “entered Snell’s room through her unlocked door, jumped on top of her while she was sleeping in her bed, tied her wrists with a laptop power cord and strangled her with the rest of the cord.”
Then, years later, Avila-Torrez pleaded guilty to stabbing 8-year-old Laura Hobbs and 9-year-old Krystal Tobias to death on Mother’s Day 2005 in Zion, Illinois, and was told by a judge that he was a “serial killer,” according to The Associated Press.
Krystal Tobias, 9, left, and her friend Laura Hobbs, 8, who were killed by Jorge Avila-Torrez in Zion, Illinois, in May 2005. Marine Corps veteran Jorge Avila-Torrez, who pleaded guilty to killing Tobias and Hobbs, reportedly friend of Tobias’ older brother at the time of their deaths. (Zion Police/Getty Images)
Another prisoner spared from Biden is Daryl Lawrence, who was convicted of the 2005 murder of Columbus police officer Bryan Hurst.
The Department of Justice, which posthumously awarded Hurst the Medal of Valor, he said he was doing uniformed special duty in the bank when a masked gunman entered and the two exchanged fire.
“Despite suffering a fatal wound, Hurst maneuvered around the counter and fired at the suspect before collapsing. Authorities arrested the gunman days later when he sought medical attention at a Washington, DC hospital,” it added. “Officer Hurst’s swift action, exceptional courage and tenacity protected the lives of many people at the bank.”
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Thomas Sanders will also no longer face the federal death penalty despite being found guilty of the “brutal kidnapping and murder” of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts in 2010.
In that case, prosecutors said Sanders was dating Roberts’ mother, Suellen Roberts, who he fatally shot in the head near Interstate 40 in Arizona during a trip to a wildlife park near the Grand Canyon over Labor Day weekend. He then forced Lexis into the vehicle and held her captive as he traveled east.
Thomas Sanders and Suellen Roberts, 31, mother of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts, in undated photos provided by the FBI. Sanders was found guilty of murdering Roberts in Arizona in 2010 and then kidnapping and killing Lexis days later. (FBI)
“Sanders drove across the country for several days before killing Lexis Roberts in a wooded area in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana,” The Ministry of Justice said. “Evidence at trial established that Sanders shot Lexis Roberts four times, slit her throat and left her body in the woods where a hunter found her body on October 8, 2010.”
Other former death row inmates include MS-13 gang member Alejandro Umana who died in the brothers Ruben and Manuel Garcia Salinas at a restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina, in December 2007 “after they ‘disrespected’ his gang’s signs by calling them ‘fake'” according to federal prosecutors.
Anthony Battle, who killed prison guard D’Antoni Andrew Washington with a ball hammer inside a maximum security unit at the Atlanta facility in 1994, was also spared.
Correctional Officer D’Antoni Andrew Washington was shot and killed by inmate Anthony Battle at USP Atlanta in 1994. (Federal Bureau of Prisons/Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Justice)
Amnesty International USA, a supporter of Biden’s decision, said Monday that “the death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment” and that Biden’s move was “a great moment for human rights.”
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“With one stroke of his pen, the president locks in his legacy as a leader who stands for racial justice, humanity and morality,” Anthony Romero added, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “This will undoubtedly be one of the foundational achievements of Biden’s presidency.”
