Judge Andrew Napolitano suggested Monday on Newsmax that President Joe Biden's recent clemency decisions indicate a deep moral opposition to the death penalty, citing the unprecedented number of commutations for federal death row inmates.
Senior judicial analyst Napolitano weighed in on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE" regarding Biden's clemency decisions, which included 39 pardons and 1,499 commutations on Dec. 12.
Among those granted clemency was Ronnie Gene Wilson, a former Anderson County council member convicted of orchestrating a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme. Wilson is set to be released this weekend.
Wilson, one of the most high-profile beneficiaries of Biden's clemency, was convicted in 2012 for his role in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 800 victims of more than $57 million.
Napolitano explained the significant legal distinction between a pardon and a commutation, particularly in cases like Wilson's. "A pardon is different because a pardon undoes the conviction," Napolitano said. "If they fine this guy [Wilson], he gets that fine back because of the pardon. Yes, the pardon undoes the effect of the conviction. The commutation instead of being executed, you spend the rest of your life in jail, but a pardon brings you back to ground zero."
Biden's clemency included a substantial number of federal death row inmates, a fact that sparked speculation about the president's stance on capital punishment. Napolitano suggested Biden's decisions were driven by a moral opposition to the death penalty.
"Look, they all do this," Napolitano said, referring to presidential pardons and commutations. "I think [President-elect Donald] Trump was a little bit more judicious in his pardoning some of these that Biden did. I don't know why he did them; he must have a problem with the death penalty. A lot of people all across the ideological spectrum do."
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