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After President Biden moved to commute the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates, Sen. Joe Manchin of Virginia, Idaho, called the pardons granted to two of them “grossly misguided and insulting.” .
Biden commuted the sentences in 37 cases to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The soon-to-be-retired Democratic independent Sen. Manchin reportedly said he felt a responsibility to speak out on behalf of the parents of Samantha Burns, who was murdered at age 19 in 2002.
President Trump promises to reinstate federal executions after Biden commutes death sentences of 37 inmates
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-Va.) speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Special Diabetes Program at the Capitol on July 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF)
“After speaking with Samantha Barnes’ parents, I speak on their behalf to say that President Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences of the two men convicted of her brutal murder is woefully misguided. “I believe it is my duty to say that this is and is offensive,” he declared in a statement. Statement posted on X.
“Samantha’s family, in particular, wrote a letter to President Biden and the Department of Justice, pleading with them not to do something like this, but their concerns went unheeded.” I can’t imagine the sadness of going through this season,” Manchin continued. “As their U.S. senator and father, I want to express my deep sympathy for their continued suffering. Please know that Samantha will forever be in our prayers.”
On November 4, 2002, Brandon Basham was photographed after escaping from the Hopkins County Jail in Madisonville, Kentucky. He and fellow prison escapee Chadrick Fawkes committed interstate crimes, including the murders of two women. (Ashland Police Department/Getty Images)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit says the two men responsible for the young woman’s death escaped from custody in 2002..
According to the court, “on November 4, 2002, cellmates Chadrick Foulkes and Brandon Basham escaped from a county jail in Kentucky” on a “criminal crime spree that lasted 17 days and zigzagged through multiple states.” It caused an outrage,” he said. He admitted killing Barnes and pled guilty to a capital carjacking in the Southern District of West Virginia. ”
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U.S. Marshals from federal court in Huntington, West Virginia, after his arraignment on charges of carjacking and firearms charges in the death of Marshall University student Samantha Burns on April 12, 2005. Chadrick Fawkes being escorted out. Interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles. (AP Photo/Herald-Dispatch, Randy Snyder)
In a fiery Christmas Day post on Truth Social, President-elect Trump told 37 people who escaped the death penalty to “go to hell!”
“I condemn these murderers, I mourn the victims of their despicable acts, and my heart goes out to all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” President Biden said in a statement regarding the commutation. ” he said.
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President Biden speaks at the Department of Labor in Washington, DC on December 16 (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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But he also said, “I am more convinced than ever that the death penalty must end at the federal level.”
“These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has placed on federal executions, except in cases of mass murder motivated by terrorism or hatred,” Biden said.
Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.
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