{"id":2382766,"date":"2024-12-22T12:07:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T17:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tree-of-life-victims-sons-ask-biden-not-to-commute-killers-sentence-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-22T12:08:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T17:08:00","slug":"tree-of-life-victims-sons-ask-biden-not-to-commute-killers-sentence-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tree-of-life-victims-sons-ask-biden-not-to-commute-killers-sentence-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Tree of Life victim&#8217;s sons ask Biden not to commute killer&#8217;s sentence &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftree-of-life-victims-sons-ask-biden-not-to-commute-killers-sentence-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2382766&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Teh Fienberg brothers, \u2062sons of a victim from\u200b the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, are urging President Joe \u200dbiden not to \u2062commute the\u2062 death sentence of \u2064Robert \u2064Bowers, the \u2064perpetrator of the 2018 attack in \u200bwhich 11 individuals \u2063were killed.In a letter dated \u200cDecember \u206417, 2024, Anthony\u200d and Howard Fienberg outline several reasons against such clemency, emphasizing the importance\u2063 of upholding the justice system, \u200cisolating Bowers to prevent the \u200cspread \u2062of\u2063 his antisemitic views, \u2062and honoring\u2062 their mother&#8217;s memory.\u200b They argue\u200b that Bowers shows no remorse for his actions and\u2064 express concern over the implications of commuting his sentence amidst pressure on Biden from\u200b various Democratic\u2064 groups to grant clemency to \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/merrick-garland-has-a-lot-of-thinking-to-do\/\" title=\"Merrick Garland Has a Lot Of Thinking To Do\">federal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/merrick-garland-has-a-lot-of-thinking-to-do-2\/\" title=\"Merrick Garland Has a Lot Of Thinking To Do\">death row inmates<\/a><\/a>. The Tree\u200d of Life massacre is noted as a historic act of antisemitic violence, \u200cmaking the case particularly sensitive. Biden is reportedly considering commuting\u200c sentences for several death row inmates, prompting this appeal from\u200c the Fienberg brothers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Tree of Life synagogue victim&rsquo;s sons ask Biden not to commute killer&rsquo;s federal death sentence<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1736790\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE &mdash;<\/strong> A 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3205145\/biden-marks-anniversary-of-pittsburgh-synagogue-attack\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Tree of Life synagogue&rsquo;s<\/a> murder victim&rsquo;s sons are imploring President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Joe Biden<\/a> not to commute the sentence of the convicted shooter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/807500019\/Letter-Fienberg-Clemmency-12-17-24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">letter to the president<\/a> by Anthony Fienberg and Howard Fienberg offers several reasons opposing commutation for Robert Bowers. He was charged with 63 federal crimes, some of which were capital offenses. Bowers pleaded not guilty, but on June 16, 2023, he was found guilty on all federal counts. On Aug. 2, 2023, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Bowers separately faces 36 charges in Pennsylvania state court.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3246847\/my-word-as-biden-joe-damages-public-trust-hunter-pardon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>&lsquo;MY WORD AS A BIDEN&rsquo;: JOE DAMAGES PUBLIC TRUST WITH FLIP-FLOP HUNTER PARDON<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Fienberg brothers&rsquo; mother, Joyce Fienberg, was among 11 people killed by Bowers in an Oct. 27, 2018, shooting rampage in the western Pennsylvania synagogue, during Saturday morning Shabbat services. The Tree of Life massacre remains the worst act of antisemitic violence in United States history.<\/p>\n<p>Biden is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/us-news\/law\/biden-weighs-commuting-sentences-of-death-row-inmates-d24fcc15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reportedly considering<\/a> commuting the sentences of most, possibly all, of the 40 current federal death row inmates.<\/p>\n<p>That would be a terrible mistake, the Fienberg brothers argued in a Dec. 17 letter that addressed only Bowers&rsquo;s federal death sentence.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There are several reasons for our request,&rdquo; the pair wrote. First, &ldquo;The honor of the U.S. justice system and the work of the jury; 2) The importance of death row as a means of isolating this particular criminal and not allowing him to spread his antisemitic and racist rhetoric; 3) Careful use of the pardon power &mdash; unlike some other death row cases, this case is about a white, racist, antisemitic mass murderer specifically violating the lives and constitutional rights of a religious minority.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3251754\/biden-pressure-grant-death-row-inmates-clemency-trump-takes-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>BIDEN UNDER PRESSURE TO GRANT DEATH ROW INMATES CLEMENCY BEFORE TRUMP TAKES OFFICE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Fienberg brothers offered two additional reasons for opposing a Biden clemency order on the Tree of Life killer. &ldquo;This criminal&rsquo;s complete lack of remorse &mdash; his only regret is that he did not kill more Jews; and 5) The need to honor the memory of our mother.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The brothers then elaborated on their slain parent and the many good years she had ahead.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our 75-year-old mom was retired, but she was by no means over the hill. Her own mother (our Nana) lived to 101, and mom could have easily expected another 25 years with us, continuing to enjoy her six grandchildren, traveling the globe, and sharing her love and compassion with a vast network of family, friends, and volunteer organizations,&rdquo; wrote Anthony and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/howardfienberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Howard Fienberg<\/a>, the latter of whom is a Northern Virginia resident and government relations professional. Howard Fienberg previously was a senior Capitol Hill staff member.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pressure On Biden From the Left<\/h2>\n<p>Biden is facing pressure to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3251754\/biden-pressure-grant-death-row-inmates-clemency-trump-takes-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commute the sentences<\/a>&nbsp;of the 40 federal inmates sitting on death row before President-elect Donald Trump, a death penalty advocate, takes office.<\/p>\n<p>If Biden does not take action on this front, each inmate will continue to be eligible for execution once Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025, for a second, non-consecutive term.<\/p>\n<p>More than&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pressley.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/2024-11-20-Letter-to-President-Biden-on-Clemency.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">60 Democratic members<\/a>&nbsp;of Congress, the American Civil Liberties Union, and a coalition led by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers have been demanding Biden commute the federal inmates&rsquo; sentences. Two of the most vocal Democratic lawmakers pressuring Biden to make that move lost their primary reelection bids earlier this year and will leave office at the end of this Congress on Jan. 3, 2025 &mdash; Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3251760\/biden-gambles-preemptive-pardons-shield-democrats-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>BIDEN GAMBLES WITH PREEMPTIVE PARDONS TO SHIELD DEMOCRATS FROM TRUMP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Other returning House Democrats advocating a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">broad federal death sentence commutation include members<\/a> of &ldquo;The Squad,&rdquo; a group of hard-left lawmakers, such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Additional signees of a Nov. 20 letter to Biden about the federal death penalty are more establishment-minded House Democrats, such as Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Steven Horsford (D-NV).<\/p>\n<p>At a Dec. 10 Capitol Hill news conference, progressives urged Biden to commute sentences for all 40 individuals sitting on federal death row, guilty or innocent.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;With 40 days left in his presidency, we must move with urgency and ensure that history never repeats itself,&rdquo; Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) said, referring to the decades-high number of federal executions carried out during the first Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He has the power, and he has the authority,&rdquo; Pressley said of Biden. &ldquo;Now, this is not only the just thing to do for President Biden as a man of faith and in honoring his campaign promise to address the federal death penalty. It&rsquo;s not just good policy. It is also good politics.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During a press conference the same day, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to answer questions on calls to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/squad-democrats-demand-biden-take-action-on-equal-rights-amendment-in-final-days-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"\u2018Squad\u2019 Democrats demand Biden \u2018take action\u2019 on Equal Rights Amendment in final days - Washington Examiner\">commute death row prisoners<\/a>.&nbsp;However, Biden is reportedly giving serious consideration to commuting death sentences to life without parole.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3233838\/which-jan-6-defendants-could-see-pardons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>WHICH JAN. 6 DEFENDERS COULD SEE PARDONS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s unclear whether that includes all 40 federal death row inmates. Biden could commute some, but not all federal death sentences.<\/p>\n<p>Several cases, such as the Tree of Life killings, have received waves of media coverage over the years. Others are the cases of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and wounded more than 250 others, and&nbsp;Dylann Roof, who, in 2015, killed nine worshipers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>But no such sentence leniency should happen in the Bowers case, the Fienberg brothers wrote.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This criminal carefully planned the attack early on a Sabbath morning, intentionally armed himself, formed the Tree of Life synagogue, and shot every Jew he could find, while they worshipped,&rdquo; the letter says. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He hunted them down, seeking to kill them in as &lsquo;messy&rsquo; a manner possible (his words),&rdquo; they continue. &ldquo;When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/law-enforcement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">law enforcement<\/a> responded, he lured them into a trap &mdash; wounding five officers. Two of the responding officers were crippled to the extent they can no longer serve. This criminal&rsquo;s only regret is that he didn&rsquo;t kill more Jews. Had law enforcement not responded so swiftly, more would have been killed at the synagogue, and dozens more Jews at his next target a few minutes away to which he was headed when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/north-carolina-d-a-says-law-enforcement-shooting-of-andrew-brown-jr-is-justified\/\" title=\"North Carolina D.A. Says Law Enforcement Shooting Of Andrew Brown Jr. Is \u2018Justified\u2019\">law enforcement officers arrived<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1736790\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1736790\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sons of Tree of Life victim urge Biden to uphold killer&#8217;s death sentence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2695,"featured_media":2382767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/121024_DEATH_PENALTY-4-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3620,47252,39316],"class_list":["post-2382766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-biden","tag-tree-of-life","tag-victims-families"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/121024_DEATH_PENALTY-4-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2695"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2382766"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2382770,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382766\/revisions\/2382770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2382767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2382766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2382766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2382766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}