Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) harshly criticized President Biden for commuting the sentences of 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders including two men sentenced to life in prison for killing a local police officer.
“I am beyond outraged and in utter disbelief that President Biden would announce clemency for Ferrone Claiborne and Terence Richardson—two men who admitted for being responsible to brutally killing Officer Allen Gibson, a hero and dedicated servant to our community,” Youngkin wrote in a Saturday statement.
“What makes this even more unconscionable is the Biden U.S Attorney advised the White House not to commute these sentences as they are violent offenders. The pain and sorrow this clemency causes the Gibson family is unimaginable,” he added.
The two men were acquitted of the 1998 murder of Allen Gibson by a jury but still sentenced to life in prison by a judge according to The Appeal, a non-profit news outlet.
Despite a lack of physical evidence linking the men to the crime scene, Youngkin remains convinced the two men shot Gibson.
“To know that the men who took Officer Gibson’s life will walk free is not just a grave injustice—it is a heartbreaking blow to those who continue to mourn his sacrifice,” the Republican wrote in his statement, citing President Obama’s decision not to grant the two inmates clemency.
“This is despicable; a grim day for justice and for the families who trust that our system will hold the guilty accountable.”
Claiborne and Richardson are expected to be released in July.
