Clemency Recommendations for Death Row Inmates

You recommended that the President of the United States, Joe Biden,

grant clemency to all 40 federal death row inmates, all of them,

clear them out, correct?

Sir, as I told Chairman Grassley,

I'm not free to discuss the recommendations. Well, that's what your memo says.

I mean, we have your memo.

Your memo of November 4th, 2024 says, and I quote,

disparity and undue severity of sentence,

which are present in many, if not all of these cases,

have been recognized as grounds for clemency,

and you went on to recommend in that memo and a series of other memos

that are now recorded and public record,

that the President of the United States grant clemency to murderers, rapists, and

the most horrible offenders, all of them, clear death row completely out.

I'm amazed you've been called here today.

I'm absolutely amazed

by it, but let's just talk about the people who you recommended.

You talk about honoring victims.

The people who you recommended get clemency

and live at the expense and sufferance of taxpayers for the rest of their lives.

Let's start with Dylan Roof.

Dylan was a neo Nazi who murdered nine African American worshipers

at a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, 2015. Do you remember this case?

I do remember it very well. I would hope you did.

Here's his victims. Do you want to look at them? There they are,

nine of them at a Bible study in a church,

killed in cold blood.

The DOJ knew from day one that he had decided, I'm going to quote

from the prosecutors, decided to attack African Americans because of their race.

He further decided to attack African American worshipers in a black

church in order to make his attack more notorious, more notorious.

And yet you recommended

that he be granted clemency, live at the expense of taxpayers for the rest of

his life, substitute your judgment for

that of the American judicial system. Do you stand by that recommendation today?

Sir, I'm not going to comment on the recommendations that I made, but I can

tell you that Mr. Roof is going to die in prison as well.

He's going to live in

prison for a very long time because of you, because of your recommendations.

And here's what you said in your memo of October 30th,

2024, you said that actually Roof is not a compelling candidate for clemency,

but you recommended it anyway. Why?

Because he suffered from anxiety, you said, right? He suffered from anxiety.

Did it ever occur to you that maybe the family of his victims

might suffer a little bit of anxiety because he marched

into their church and murdered them in cold blood because he was an

incredible racist and he wanted to get on TV?

Sir, do you regret it?

I'm not going to comment on the recommendations that I made to the president.