The Department of Justice argued that two prisoners on federal death row whose sentences President Joe Biden commuted should be required to accept the commutations despite their request to have the president’s order nullified.
Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis, who are both being held in federal prison in Indiana, in a rare move, requested that federal courts nullify their death row commutations. A week after Biden issued their commutations, Agofsky and Davis filed emergency motions seeking an injunction to block the change, which they argued could affect their appeals as they claimed innocence in their initial convictions.
The Justice Department said that while not only are commutations legal, the president additionally has the authority to decide commutations and that a prisoner has “no authority to reject” one.
“The President’s commutation of a sentence ‘is the…
