Former President Joe Biden reportedly commuted the sentence of a Connecticut drug dealer convicted of murdering a mother and her eight-year-old boy, as part of a series of pardons for “non-violent” offenders before he left office.
Adrian Peeler, 48, was finally convicted solely of planning to murder Karen Clarke and her eight-year-old son, Leroy “BJ” Brown, despite eyewitness testimony, according to the Connecticut Post.
In January 1999, the mother and kid were assaulted upon returning to their apartment, few weeks before they were scheduled to testify against the drug dealer’s brother, who was charged with the shooting of Clarke’s boyfriend in the presence of the young boy.
Peeler’s sibling allegedly issued the command to assassinate the mother and son.
Clarke was discovered shot numerous times, positioned supine on the floor of her son’s room, with a phone within inches from her hand.
Her son was discovered deceased in the hallway with a gunshot wound to the back of his skull.
Peeler received a 25-year jail term for conspiracy to commit murder and an additional 35 years for narcotics trafficking.
In his final days in office, Biden shortened Peeler’s sentence as part of a sweeping clemency initiative for almost 2,500 federal prisoners whom the former president designated as “non-violent.”
One of Connecticut’s Democratic senators indicated unease regarding the pardon.
The homicides prompted Connecticut to establish its witness protection program.
The sibling of the slain mother described the pardon as “shocking” for his family.
Russell Peeler was first condemned to death for the murders; however, this sentence was commuted to life imprisonment following the abolition of the death penalty in Connecticut.
Their mother, a police officer in Bridgeport, encouraged the brothers to adhere to the law.
Prior to her demise from stomach cancer, she implored her sons to allocate her insurance funds towards completing their college education; nevertheless, Russell Peeler diverted the funds to establish his drug empire instead.
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