LA - Child killer whose death sentence was commuted by Biden faces death penalty in Louisiana - Catahoula Parish, April 2025

[Clearsky]

Child-killer Thomas Sanders, whose sentence was commuted by Biden, faces death penalty in Louisiana

A convicted child murderer whose death sentence was commuted by former President Biden during his last weeks in office has been indicted by a Louisiana Grand Jury for the same heinous crime.

nypost.com

A Catahoula Parish Grand Jury will seek the death penalty for Thomas S. Sanders — 15 years after he kidnapped and murdered Las Vegas girl Lexis Roberts, 12, according to KALB.

 

[iamshadow21]

Child-killer Thomas Sanders, whose sentence was commuted by Biden, faces death penalty in Louisiana

A convicted child murderer whose death sentence was commuted by former President Biden during his last weeks in office has been indicted by a Louisiana Grand Jury for the same heinous crime.

nypost.com

A Catahoula Parish Grand Jury will seek the death penalty for Thomas S. Sanders — 15 years after he kidnapped and murdered Las Vegas girl Lexis Roberts, 12, according to KALB.

View attachment 579726

How is this not double jeopardy? Seriously asking.

How can anything be relied upon if the state can just ignore the existing conviction?

MOO

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

How is this not double jeopardy? Seriously asking.

How can anything be relied upon if the state can just ignore the existing conviction?

MOO

Federal and state are considered separate entities altogether, so double jeopardy wouldn't apply. It's not unheard of for someone to face charges for the same incident by both, although it's usually the other way around - the feds come in and pile additional charges on a case that's already being handled by the state. The problem here was actually the federal government's fault from the beginning, because there's really no reason for murder to be a federal crime. The fact that they're considered separate entities and therefore separate crimes makes sense, because the federal government only has four very specific areas that it's constitutionally allowed to handle. But it's gotten so absurdly large and powerful the past century-plus that the DoJ has become a redundant law enforcement authority that can trample over the states.

 

[tlorik]

Possible the state deferred to federal as he transported the 12 yr old across multiple state lines before killing her in Louisiana. He also killed her mother before kidnapping the child. From what I can tell, the state may have a pretty good case. His first trial drug on for 4 yrs!

 

[luxISlight]

Why in the world would Biden commute this murderer's sentence to life in prison vs death? I'm glad the state is stepping in.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

Why in the world would Biden commute this murderer's sentence to life in prison vs death? I'm glad the state is stepping in.

I'm by no means a Biden fan, but this is one thing I can't criticize him for (except that he should've commuted every federal death sentence, and shouldn't have waited until the last day)... Even if it was a robotic arm that signed it. The government isn't competent at anything, so I don't trust them to decide when someone lives and dies. Plus, a life sentence can be a fate worse than death - and someone who murders a young girl will have a particularly rough life in prison.

 

[GatorFL]

How is this not double jeopardy? Seriously asking.

How can anything be relied upon if the state can just ignore the existing conviction?

MOO

My other post was removed for not having a source. So I am reposting with several sources.

It's long been policy in the USA that different governments (Federal vs State) can charge an individual with similar charges for a crime. I first became aware of this when some of the police officers who were exonerated in the Rodney King case were then charged by the Federal government for the same incident, and were convicted.

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10763

https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep435/usrep435313/usrep435313.pdf#page=18

Double jeopardy no issue in L.A. officers’ 2nd trial U.S., states can try crimes separately

WASHINGTON — The four Los Angeles police officers tried in the Rodney G. King beating case in federal court had, as all Americans do, a constitutional right not to be tried twice for the same…

www.baltimoresun.com

 

[tlcya]

How is this not double jeopardy? Seriously asking.

How can anything be relied upon if the state can just ignore the existing conviction?

MOO

At first blush I had the same question but now I see, he was previously convicted federally and for that conviction his sentence was commuted. So the state is free to prosecute him. Good. Biden never should have commuted his sentence to begin with (MOO)