Death row inmate who had sentence commuted charged with child murder (2025)

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A death row inmate who had his sentence commuted by former president Joe Bidenhas been indicted over the murder of a 12-year-old girl.

Thomas S. Sanders was indicted by a Louisiana state Grand Jury on April 14 for the chilling death of 12-year-old Lexis Kaye Roberts in 2010.

Sanders was convicted at a federal level in 2014 for the same offense, relating to the kidnapping, torture and murder of Lexis, but now faces charges by Louisiana state.

He was one of 37 men languishing on federal death row who had their sentences commuted by Biden in one of his final acts as president on December 23, 2024.

The move sparked outrage among conservatives, who accused him of trying to subvert justice by reverting the sentences from death to life in prison.

During the federal trial against Sanders, jurors heard he struck up a romantic relationship with Lexis' mom, Suellen Roberts.

Two months into their relationship, Roberts agreed to go on a trip to the Grand Canyon with Sanders and her daughter.

On their way back to Nevada after the three day getaway, Sanders shot Roberts dead at a remote location in the Arizona desert and forced 12-year-old Lexis into the car.

He kept her captive for several days, driving across the country to Catahoula Parish in Louisiana, where he ultimately shot the 12-year-old four times and cut her throat.

Her body was found by a hunter abandoned in the woods.

Jurors heard testimony from two of Lexis' teachers, who described her as a 'shy but hard working' girl who was 'sweet, vulnerable and innocent.'

It took the jury just one hour of deliberating to return a verdict of guilty.

'This is a heartbreaking case,' Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said at the time.

'A young girl witnessed the murder of her mother, was held captive for days, and had her life cut tragically short by a senseless, brutal murder.'

Seventh Judicial District Attorney Brad Burget maintained that Biden's commutation had no bearing on the state's case against Sanders.

'In 2010, the state deferred prosecution to the federal authorities, who successfully prosecuted and achieved justice for Lexis,' Burget said.

'Yet, Mr. Biden commuted the federal death sentence imposed on Mr. Sanders to a sentence of life in prison choosing to spare the life of a convicted child killer over the victim, Lexis Kaye Roberts.'

Biden's decision spared the lives of people convicted in horrific crimes, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities.

The decision left three federal inmates to face execution.

A Trump spokesperson called the decision 'abhorrent' at the time.

'These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones.' he said.

'President Trump stands for the rule of law, which will return when he is back in the White House after he was elected with a massive mandate from the American people.'

In a speech announcing his 2024 campaign, Trump called for those 'caught selling drugs to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts.'

He later promised to execute drug and human smugglers and even praised China's harsher treatment of drug peddlers.

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