Former Attorney General Pam Bondi has taken a strong stand against President Biden’s final-day commutations of death row sentences, calling on the Department of Justice to overturn these decisions and push state officials to pursue capital punishment for the affected inmates. In a pointed letter addressed to DOJ employees, Bondi decried the clemency actions as a subversion of the justice system that undermines the rule of law and betrays the victims’ families.

According to Bondi, the recent decision by former President Biden to commute the sentences of 37 death row inmates represents a grave miscarriage of justice. “These commutations have robbed the victims’ families of the retribution they fought for,” Bondi wrote in her impassioned letter. She argued that by granting clemency to convicted murderers, the previous administration not only weakened public confidence in the judicial process but also sent a dangerous message that the punishment for heinous crimes can be diluted through executive power.

Bondi’s letter, which she released on Wednesday, outlines a clear directive to DOJ employees: immediately explore all legal avenues to challenge the commutations. “The Department of Justice must now act swiftly to restore justice,” she declared. Bondi stressed the need for DOJ officials to collaborate with state prosecutors to reexamine cases and determine if, under state law, the death penalty should still be pursued for these inmates. She contended that the commutations run contrary to decades of prosecutorial efforts aimed at ensuring that those who commit the most egregious crimes receive the full measure of the law.