Biden clemency for 'non-violent' inmates includes Connecticut child killerA 48-year-old Connecticut drug kingpin who killed a mother and her 8-year-old son so she wouldn't testify against his brother has received a commutation as part of former President Joe Biden's clemency for nearly 2,500 federal inmates he described as "non-violent."
Adrian Peeler, a Bridgeport drug trafficker, killed a woman named Karen Clarke and her son just weeks before they were supposed to testify against his brother, who was accused of shooting Clarke's boyfriend in front of the child.
The mother and son were ambushed as they returned home to their apartment in January 1999. Police found the boy with a bullet hole in the back of his head on the stairs and Clarke riddled with gunshot wounds and her outstretched hand inches from a phone, according to CT Post.
Peeler, the alleged shooter, beat the top charge of murder and served 25 years in state prison for conspiracy to commit murder. He also took a plea deal on federal cocaine trafficking charges. After finishing his Connecticut sentence, he was transferred to federal custody to serve more time.
Peeler's latest appeal was denied in October of last year, but he previously convinced a judge to knock 20 years off of his sentence due to good behavior and the young age at which he committed the murders. He would have been released in 2034.
The last-minute clemency from Biden also caught Clarke's family by surprise. On Jan. 17, the White House boasted that Biden had issued more pardons and commutations "than any president in U.S. history."
"Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice," Biden said in a statement.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/biden-clemency-non-violent-inmates-includes-connecticut-child-killerTimeline: How CT killer Adrian Peeler, newly commuted, was convicted in killings of mom, 8-year-oldOn Jan. 7, 1999, Karen Clarke and her 8-year-old son, Leroy “BJ” Brown were shot dead in their home.
Authorities would later find Clarke lying face-up on the floor of her son’s room, a telephone just inches from her outstretched hand. Brown was found in the hall, a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
On Friday, outgoing President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of Adrian Peeler, who was convicted in the murders of Clarke and Brown. Peeler was reported to have killed the pair on the orders of his brother, Russell Peeler Jr., who also was convicted in their murders.
Despite an eyewitness, Adrian Peeler eventually was convicted of conspiring to kill the mother and son. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, then remained in prison for a 35-year sentence for drug-dealing.
https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bridgeport-clemency-adrian-peeler-murders-timeline-20049049.php