Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is taking action to reverse the last-minute sentence commutations of 37 federal death row inmates issued by former President Joe Biden, accusing him of undermining the justice system.
Fox News reported that Bondi has directed the Department of Justice to pursue state-level death penalties where legally possible and to reassess security conditions for the affected inmates.
Bondi, who was confirmed as attorney general on Wednesday, issued a directive to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that outlined her plan to reinstate the death penalty for the 37 inmates. She criticized Biden’s decision to commute their sentences to life without parole, arguing that it weakened the rule of law.
In a letter to DOJ employees, Bondi stated that the commutations had deprived victims’ families of justice. She asserted that the families had fought hard to secure death sentences and that the Biden administration's decision disrupted that process.
“The commutations also robbed the victims' families of the justice promised — and fought hard to achieve — by the Department of Justice,” Bondi wrote in her directive.
As part of her directive, Bondi ordered the DOJ to take three specific actions in response to the commutations. First, she called for a public forum that would allow the victims’ families to share their thoughts on the impact of Biden’s decision. She emphasized that their voices had been overlooked in the process.
Second, Bondi instructed U.S. attorneys to work with state officials to pursue the death penalty under state law, where legally feasible. She clarified that this step would only proceed after consulting with victims’ families and ensuring the viability of legal action.
Lastly, she ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons to reassess and adjust confinement conditions for the 37 inmates to reflect their criminal history and security risks. She argued that their initial death sentences were handed down for serious crimes and that prison security should reflect that status.
Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates was issued in late December, shortly before the transition of power to President-elect Donald Trump. The White House justified the move by stating that it aligned with a shift in federal sentencing practices.
The administration argued that keeping these inmates on death row would have allowed the incoming administration to carry out executions under policies that Biden believed were outdated.
In a statement, the White House defended Biden’s broader criminal justice policies, noting that they had “transformed individual lives and positively impacted communities, especially historically marginalized communities.”
Despite the sweeping commutations, Biden excluded three high-profile mass murderers from his decision. Dylann Roof, the Charleston church shooter; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber; and Robert Bowers, the perpetrator of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, all remained on death row.
The administration did not provide an official explanation for these exclusions, but legal experts have speculated that political and public pressure may have influenced the decision.
Bondi, in contrast, has emphasized that the justice system should treat all criminals equally and that her actions seek to restore consistency to federal sentencing.
Bondi, a former Florida state attorney general and prosecutor, has long been a critic of what she sees as political interference in the justice system. She has repeatedly emphasized the importance of maintaining fairness and ensuring that legal consequences are applied without bias.
“America will have one tier of justice for all,” Bondi declared in her directive, reinforcing her position that Biden’s actions disrupted that principle.
She has vowed that under her leadership, the DOJ will work to correct what she views as an overreach of presidential clemency powers and a betrayal of victims’ rights.
The legality of Bondi’s plan to reinstate death sentences remains uncertain. Legal experts have noted that while states have the authority to impose capital punishment, reversing federal commutations is a complex process that could face significant legal challenges in the coming months.
