AG Bondi Transfers Two Ex-Death Row Inmates to Supermax Prison After Biden’s Controversial Commutations
Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered two more former death row inmates, both convicted of brutal killings, to be transferred to the nation’s most secure federal prison in Colorado — a dramatic rebuke of President Joe Biden’s final-year commutation spree.
The transfers to ADX Florence — also known as “supermax” — follow Bondi’s directive to increase oversight and confinement conditions for the 37 inmates whose death sentences were commuted by Biden just weeks before leaving office. The Justice Department confirmed the move Thursday, bringing the total number of ex-death row inmates now in the Florence facility to ten.
Crackdown on Biden’s Last-Minute Clemency
Bondi’s Justice Department has made clear that while the commutations themselves cannot be reversed, the Department will take all lawful steps to ensure these inmates are punished appropriately. In a memo earlier this year, Bondi ordered the Bureau of Prisons to review all 37 cases and determine whether the inmates’ security risks warranted relocation to the ADX facility.
“This Department of Justice will continue to seek accountability for the families blindsided by President Biden’s reckless commutations of 37 vicious predators,” Bondi said in a statement. “Two more monsters who plotted and violently murdered innocent people will spend the rest of their lives in our country’s most severe federal prison.”
The move represents a broader shift under President Trump and AG Bondi to reverse the Biden-era push for leniency toward violent criminals and to restore what the DOJ calls “a measure of justice” to victims’ families.
Who Are These Inmates?
One of the inmates transferred Thursday is a former New Orleans police officer dubbed “Robocop,” infamous for using his badge to protect cocaine traffickers and for orchestrating the execution of a woman who had filed a brutality complaint against him. He was secretly recorded by the FBI as part of a larger probe into police corruption and a drug protection racket.
The second inmate was responsible for a chilling multi-state killing spree. After nearly burning his ex-girlfriend alive in a Charlotte, NC apartment arson, he later tracked her down to her Virginia hometown and murdered her in cold blood in front of her family.
Justice officials say both men meet the criteria for maximum confinement due to their crimes, lack of remorse, and ongoing threat potential.
ADX Florence: America’s Most Secure Prison
ADX Florence houses the most dangerous criminals in the federal system. Among its inmates are al-Qaeda co-founder Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Prisoners at ADX spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. Visits are tightly restricted, and communication with the outside world is nearly nonexistent.
Victims’ Families Left in the Dark
Bondi has made it a priority to involve victims’ families in the post-commutation process, something the Biden administration failed to do. Families were reportedly blindsided by the December 2024 commutations, which were announced without warning or outreach.
In response, Bondi hosted a series of meetings earlier this year to hear directly from victims’ relatives. DOJ sources say many attendees expressed shock, anger, and deep frustration with what they saw as a political decision that ignored the severity of the crimes.
Political Fallout and Future Transfers
More transfers to ADX are expected soon. The Justice Department said all 37 former death row inmates are being evaluated and are slated for supermax confinement by early 2026.
Bondi’s hardline approach stands in stark contrast to Biden’s — and even former President Obama’s — use of clemency powers. While Obama’s clemency program mostly targeted nonviolent drug offenders, Biden’s included several inmates convicted of murder, torture, and arson.
The political optics are stark: a Trump administration working to clean up what it describes as Biden’s reckless leniency — and doing so with the full force of the federal prison system.