Bondi Directs Transfer of Biden‑Commuted Death‑Row Inmates to ADX 'Supermax' — Two More Moved

Two federal inmates whose death sentences were commuted by President Joe Biden have been transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence, Colorado, the Justice Department confirmed. The moves form part of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s effort to place these individuals in higher‑security confinement consistent with their criminal histories.

Details of the transfers

Department officials said the two inmates were processed at ADX on Thursday. They are among 37 people whose death sentences were commuted last December; the Justice Department reports that eight of those commuted inmates had already been moved to ADX, bringing the total transferred since mid‑September to ten. Officials expect all 37 to be housed at ADX by early next year.

Who were the two inmates?

One inmate was convicted of a violent, multi‑stage attack in which he allegedly tracked an ex‑girlfriend from Roanoke, Virginia, to Charlotte, North Carolina, cut the phone lines at her apartment and set the building on fire. Although the victim escaped and survived burn injuries, the inmate later located her at her family home and fatally shot her in public.

The other transferred prisoner is a former New Orleans police officer who has been accused and convicted in a series of serious offenses. Federal investigators say he ordered and coordinated the killing of a woman who had come to a precinct to file what she believed would be a confidential complaint about police brutality. The officer was also implicated in an alleged protection racket involving cocaine traffickers and the police department, and was found to have given false testimony in murder cases that contributed to wrongful convictions of several men.

Attorney General Pam Bondi: "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. This Department of Justice will continue to seek accountability for the families blindsided by President Biden’s reckless commutations of 37 vicious predators."

Context and implications

Bondi has emphasized that, while commutations cannot be undone, the Justice Department can and will use its authority to ensure confinement conditions match the security risks posed by these inmates. A DOJ memo directed agencies to evaluate detention placements and ensure that conditions of confinement reflect inmates’ histories and the seriousness of their crimes.

ADX is widely regarded as the federal system’s most secure facility and houses some of the nation’s most notorious inmates. The decision to concentrate commuted death‑row inmates at ADX reflects a policy priority to maintain restrictive conditions for those deemed especially dangerous.

Timeline

After reviewing the commutations, the Attorney General instructed the Bureau of Prisons to evaluate appropriate detention locations earlier this year. Transfers to ADX have been ongoing since mid‑September, and officials expect the process of relocating all 37 commuted inmates to be completed by early next year.

Observers and advocates have raised legal and policy questions about the scale and speed of these transfers. Supporters of the commutations have argued they targeted narrow populations and followed established clemency practices, while the Justice Department says it is balancing commutation decisions with public safety concerns by adjusting confinement conditions where warranted.