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submitted 2 days ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Summary

Two federal death row inmates, Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis, are challenging President Joe Biden’s commutation of their death sentences to life without parole.

They argue the commutations harm their legal appeals, stripping them of heightened judicial scrutiny and legal counsel access.

Agofsky is contesting convictions for a 1989 murder and a 2001 prison killing, while Davis, a former police officer, was convicted for orchestrating the 1994 murder of a civil rights complainant.

Biden’s clemency, excluding three high-profile cases, commuted 37 federal death row sentences, a historic number.

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[-] Dotcom@lemmy.ml 38 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

My guess is that accepting that also means admitting to the alleged crimes. Both of these people seem to want to be proven innocent rather than guilty but not set for execution.

Edit: I did no research on either case nor know if I am correct.

[-] athairmor@lemmy.world 34 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)
  1. There’s this idea going around that accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt. This is false and there is a court decision saying so.
  2. This is a commutation, not a pardon.
[-] cfi@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago

If you're referring to Burdick, then you have it backwards. Burdick explicitly states that a pardon carries an "imputation of guilt" and that accepting the pardon is "a confession to it".

[-] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

No, it absolutely does not state that.

[-] athairmor@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

That wasn’t part of the holding in Burdick. It was part of the dicta according to a Federal Appeals Court.

[-] FlowVoid@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Probably was referring to this case.

[-] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

Davis, a former police officer, was convicted for orchestrating the 1994 murder of a civil rights complainant

If Biden was trying to protect them from getting executed by Trump, I don’t think that one had anything to worry about.

[-] athairmor@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

But, it might fuck up Davis’s appeals.

[-] imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

It's a bold move Cotton, let's see if it pays off

this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2025
107 points (97.3% liked)

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