Joe Biden, or whichever White House official is actually running things at this point, is wrapping up this administration with a wave of pardons and commutations unlike anything America has seen in generations.
But perhaps the most controversial decision thus far has involved commuting the sentences of all but three federal inmates currently awaiting execution.
For former prosecutor Derek Shoemake, the commutation of Brandon Council’s sentence hit especially close to home, as Fox News reported:
Derek Shoemake, former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina and one of the federal prosecutors in the case against Council, told Fox News Digital it was “one of the greatest professional honors” of his life to pursue justice for victims Donna Major, 59, and Kathryn Skeen, 36, and his heart aches for their families following Biden’s decision.
“Donna and Katie were amazing women, wonderful mothers, and beacons of light in their community. Today my thoughts and prayers are with their families, and my heart aches for them as they process this news,” Shoemake said in a statement.
He also said his thoughts and prayers are with the team who “worked for more than a year” getting justice for Major and Skeen, “ensuring a remorseless murderer received a sentence that spoke to the horrific nature of his senseless crimes.”
Council entered CresCom Bank in Conway, South Carolina, on Aug. 21, 2017, with the intention of robbing the business and killing its employees, according to a 2017 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina (USAO-SC).
After making it inside, Council shot Major, who was the bank teller, multiple times with a revolver, the USAO-SC said at the time. He then ran into Skeen’s office, where she worked as the bank’s manager, and shot her multiple times while she hid under her desk.
ADVERTISEMENTBefore fleeing the bank, he stole keys to both victims’ cars, their bank cards and more than $15,000 in cash. He took one of the vehicles to a motel he was staying at, packed his luggage and drove off.
Biden’s commutation announcement drew widespread backlash from across the political spectrum:
Why on earth would Joe Biden commute/pardon a Chinese national in jail for possessing 47,000 child porn images?
Oh, unless the Chinese Communist Party has a lot more info on the Biden crime family?!? There’s so much more to this that needs to come out. pic.twitter.com/eGa9J7xI8X— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 13, 2024
President Biden's decision to commute the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates is not just senseless—it's an outrageous example of this administration's upside down and backwards ideology.
From leaving our borders wide open to enabling cartels and gutting American energy,… pic.twitter.com/EUZ9YFzaul— Congressman Dan Meuser (@RepMeuser) December 23, 2024
HOW IS IT THAT JOE BIDEN WAS DEEMED UNFIT TO BE CHARGED IN HIS CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS INQUIRY BUT IS SOMEHOW FIT TO ISSUE PARDONS AND COMMUTE SENTENCES? pic.twitter.com/zSs5CyRYW8
— Molly Pitcher (@AmericanMama86) December 16, 2024
Joe Biden’s National Security Council Advisor just said in an undercover interview Biden "Can't say a sentence”
But Biden is allowed to commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates who’s crimes include:
– Child murder
– Killing of police and military officers… pic.twitter.com/SM2gqBkwTO— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) December 23, 2024
So Biden is too senile to stand trial but mentally fit enough to commute the sentences of criminals?
Make it make sense. pic.twitter.com/SPXIJeDV4e
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) December 23, 2024
USA Today covered some of the bipartisan backlash directed at the White House this week:
Death row spiritual advisor Rev. Jeff Hood was unsparing in his criticism. He also accused Biden of ranking victims.
“We are in the same moral abyss we were in before,” Hood told USA TODAY. “Regardless of how many death sentences President Biden just commuted, by not commuting them all he has made sure the killing will continue.”
ADVERTISEMENTRepublicans in Congress were also upset with Biden.
“Joe Biden is using his last days in office to spare the worst monsters in America. These killers were sentenced to death by a jury of their peers and then had a lengthy and burdensome appeals process,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In a separate post, Cotton called for both a congressional and Department of Justice investigation into the legality of the commutations.
Here’s some additional coverage Biden’s decision and its aftermath:
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