Two death row inmates with the chance to have their death sentences commuted by President Joe Biden have decided not to sign the paperwork to move ahead with the offer.
Whose sentences did Joe Biden commute?
Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis are among a group of 37 federal inmates whose death sentences were commuted by the POTUS just before Christmas, when he announced that the prisoners would have their sentences reclassified to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Biden’s decision came as part of his belief that America must ‘stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level, except in cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder’.
Following the commutation order, inmates must sign paperwork accepting Biden’s decision – but Agofsky and Davis are refusing to do so.
Why are Agofsky and Davis in prison?
Agofsky was originally imprisoned after being convicted of the 1989 murder of bank president Dan Short. In 2001, while incarcerated, he was convicted in the death of a fellow inmate, and a jury recommended a death sentence.
Davis, a former New Orleans police officer, received a death sentence after being convicted in the 1994 murder of Kim Groves, who had filed a complaint accusing him of beating a teenager in her neighborhood.
Prosecutors claimed Davis had hired a drug dealer to kill Groves, and he was charged with violating Groves’ civil rights.
Now the two prisoners, who are inmates at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, have filed emergency motions to seek an injunction which would block Biden’s commutations, arguing it could actually put them at a legal disadvantage.
The reasoning behind their decision comes from the scrutiny that is typically given to death penalties in comparison to life sentences, because both Agofsky and Davis are hoping to appeal their cases for major reasons: they have claimed they’re innocent.
Why do Agofsky and Davis want to keep their death sentences?
As both Agofsky and Davis hope to appeal their sentences, remaining on death row would allow their cases to undergo a legal process known as heightened scrutiny, in which courts look for errors in the cases to ensure no mistakes have been made before an inmate’s death.
Agofsky’s motion explains: “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.”
“The defendant never requested commutation. The defendant never filed for commutation,” the filing continues. “The defendant does not want commutation, and refused to sign the papers offered with the commutation.”
Meanwhile, Davis argued that he has ‘always maintained that having a death sentence would draw attention to the overwhelming misconduct’ he has claimed took place during his case.
Are Agofsky and Davis innocent?
Agofsky, who is now 53 years old, has hit back on both his original murder charge and the conviction of the 2001 in his motion.
As well as disputing the 2001 death, he is trying to ‘establish his innocence in the original case for which he was incarcerated’.
Davis’ motion states that he has ‘always maintained his innocence and argued that federal court had no jurisdiction to try him for civil rights offenses’.
Will the inmates be able to get out of Biden’s order?
Though there is paperwork involved in the commutations, Dan Kobil, a professor of constitutional law at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, told NBC News that having a death sentence restored is challenging.
In 1927, a Supreme Court ruling determined that ‘the convict’s consent is not required’ for a president to grant reprieves and pardons.
As they fight to keep their death sentences, Davis and Agofsky have asked a judge to appoint them a co-counsel.
UNILAD has contacted the Justice Department for comment.
