This Senate resolution, introduced January 14, 2025 by Senator Tom Cotton and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, condemns President Biden's December 23, 2024 commutation of Anthony George Battle's death sentence. The resolution states that President Biden "undermined the rule of law" and "robbed victims of justice" by commuting the sentence. It says Battle was convicted of murdering his wife and was sentenced to life imprisonment; while serving at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, he murdered 31-year-old correctional officer D'Antonio Washington by bludgeoning him in the back of the head with a ball-peen hammer. The resolution reports that, when questioned, Battle showed no remorse and said he was "happy" he killed Washington. It also states that President Biden commuted the sentences of Battle and 36 other murderers, but refused to commute three controversial inmates, which the resolution says shows a political motive. The resolution concludes that the Senate "unequivocally condemns" this commutation.
The resolution expresses the Senate's official condemnation of this commutation and records the sponsor's findings and views. No publicly available information on any direct legal changes, effects on sentences, or actions that the resolution itself would require.
No publicly available information on expenses or budgetary effects. The text contains no funding provisions.
According to the resolution's sponsor and text: President Biden's commutation undermined the rule of law and denied justice to victims; Anthony Battle committed multiple murders, including the prison killing of a correctional officer; Battle showed no remorse; the commutation is an insult to victims; and the pattern of commutations shows political motives rather than principled opposition to the death penalty.
No publicly available information in the resolution text about opposing views or arguments.