2 Death Row Inmates Stun Nation, Say They Won't Take Biden's Commutations

In a rare legal move, two death row inmates are fighting to block the commutation of their sentences by President Joe Biden.

Last month, Biden commuted the sentences of several federal death row inmates, changing their punishment to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. While these actions did not grant freedom, they removed the possibility of execution.

However, two inmates—Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis—are resisting the commutations, arguing that retaining their death row status could aid their legal battles. Both men are incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, and filed legal challenges to the commutations on December 30, according to NBC News.

The inmates believe that the heightened scrutiny afforded to death penalty cases offers them a better chance of overturning their convictions.

Agofsky’s filing states, “To commute his sentence now, while the defendant has active litigation in court, is to strip him of the protection of heightened scrutiny. This constitutes an undue burden and leaves the defendant in a position of fundamental unfairness, which would decimate his pending appellate procedures.”

Davis, a former New Orleans police officer, also opposes the commutation, arguing that his death sentence brings attention to alleged misconduct within the Justice Department. His filing asserts that he “has always maintained that having a death sentence would draw attention to the overwhelming misconduct” in his case.

Despite their arguments, legal experts suggest the inmates face an uphill battle. A 1927 U.S. Supreme Court ruling determined that a convict’s consent is not required for a presidential commutation.

Dan Kobil, a constitutional law professor at Capital University Law School, explained the precedent, saying, “Just as we impose sentences for the public welfare, the president and governors in states commute sentences for the public welfare.”

Agofsky was initially convicted in 1989 for the murder and robbery of an Oklahoma bank president. While serving his sentence, he was convicted of killing another inmate, a crime that led to his death sentence.

Davis’s case dates back to 1996, when he was sentenced to death for ordering the murder of a woman who had filed a police brutality complaint against him. Although his death sentence was overturned in 1999, he was retried and sentenced to death again in 2005.

Davis has consistently maintained his innocence, arguing that the federal court lacked jurisdiction in his case. In his filing, he emphasized, “Prisoner Davis has always maintained his innocence and argued that the federal court had no jurisdiction to try him for civil rights offenses.”

Agofsky, meanwhile, argued that he wants his legal appeals to proceed without interference. “He merely wishes for his case to play out in court as it was meant to, within the protection of heightened scrutiny, and without the interference of partisan politics,” his filing stated.

The inmates’ legal efforts highlight the complexities surrounding presidential clemency and its implications for ongoing appeals.