“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” — Matthew 2:16
To historians, King Herod the Great of Judea is best known for his large-scale building projects throughout Judea. To most Christians, he is remembered only for his “massacre of the innocents” in Bethlehem, as described in Matthew’s gospel. For most Christians, Herod represents the epitome of evil — a man responsible for selfish murder of two-year-old children to preserve his throne. Herod’s slaughter of the innocents is commemorated annually on the church’s calendar on December 28.
On December 23, 2024, President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 out of 40 murderers on Federal death row. In his official statement, Biden writes
"These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed [2021on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.
"Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss.
"But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new [Trump] administration resume executions that I halted."
But if these acts of these murderers were “despicable,” and if the victims’ families “have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” why did he do it? Were they not presumed innocent at trial? Didn’t the juries find the guilt of these murderers beyond a reasonable doubt? Didn’t they have competent lawyers at every stage of their criminal proceedings? Didn’t they have a written charge specifying what crimes they had committed? Were they not allowed to confront their accusers and cross-examine them? Were they not allowed to compel the attendance of their own witnesses? Were they not tried in open court? Were their convictions not affirmed on their appeals? If they are indeed guilty of “despicable,” and if the victims’ families “have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” why did he do it?
Now, which of any of these rights did Biden’s 37 murderers afford their victims? Did they provide they with free attorneys? Proof beyond reasonable doubt? Etc.?
Biden claims to have been “guided by his conscience.” But he also states he did it to thwart the incoming administration: “I cannot stand back and let a new [Trump] administration resume executions that I halted."
But if the death penalty is “immoral” or it was indeed a matter of “conscience,” why did Biden not commute the death sentences of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooter, the Charleston, S.C. church shooter, or the Boston Marathon bomber? Is Biden claiming that their murders were somehow more “despicable,” and/or that the victims’ families “have suffered more unimaginable and irreparable loss?
And if imposition of the “death penalty” is “immoral,” even in “despicable” cases of murder, and if indeed Mr. Biden’s commutations were compelled by his Catholic conscience, where has his conscience been all these years when it comes to abortion and the slaughter of entirely innocent babies in the wombs of their mothers? Were the fetuses given free attorneys? An indictment setting out the crime they had committed? A public trial? A presumption of innocence? Proof beyond reasonable doubt as to a crime they had committed that would justify their being sentenced to death? Or has he no conscience when it comes to killing innocent unborn babies?
There is something hopelessly muddled at Biden’s core which allows him to behave like King Herod when it comes to slaughtering innocent fetal life, while at the same time succoring “despicable” murderers.
First Published in the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus on January 19, 2025. Copyright 2025, John Donald O'Shea
