Di Sympathy na for di devil

For reasons wey I don explain before, e dey vex me wen di partisan conservatives dey react to progressive overreach wen dem talk say, “Dis na how you get Trump.”

But as di mata, na true say authoritarians dey profit from left-wing squeamishness about basic law enforcement.

For 2019, David Frum warn Democrats say dia immigration policies go be dia own downfall for piece titled “If Liberals no go enforce borders, fascists.”

Five years later, dat double as one-line explanation for how we get Trump again.

For Monday, I wake up to see say my Twitter feed don dey dominated by two news items.

One na woman wey dem burn to death for subway car for New York City afta anoda passenger intentionally light fire for her body.

Di suspect na immigrant from Guatemala wey appear to dey for di U.S. illegally.

Di oda na Joe Biden wey decide to commute di death sentences of almost, but not quite, every condemned killer for di federal prison system.

Of di 40 men wey dey wait to be executed, 37 don get dia sentences reduced to life in prison without di possibility of parole.

Di three exceptions na names you don hear before.

One na Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, di surviving broad for di pair wey carry out di Boston Marathon bombing for 2013.

Di second na Dylann Roof, di white supremacist wey murder nine black congregants for South Carolina church for 2015.

Di third one na Robert Bowers, di mass shooter wey kill11 pipo wit gun for di Tree of Life synagogue for Pittsburgh for 2018.

“President Biden don dedicate him career to take reduce violent crime and ensuring fair and effective justice system,” di White House talk for statement wey explain di decision.

“Him believe say America must stop di use of di death penalty at di federal level, except for di cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”

Two principled options dey before di president if him want make di point say capital punishment suppose dey used more sparingly than e dey now.

One na commutations for everyone. If di death penalty dey so dangerous and immoral as form of state power wey di federal government no suppose use, then no reason dey to make exceptions.

Spare Tsarnaev, Roof, and Bowers too and accept di blowback as di price of doing wetin you think dey right.

Di oda na to go case-by-case through di 40 candidates and arrive for di thoughtful moral judgment about each of di least wey president fit do if him resolve to overturn duly imposed death sentence.

Di circumstances of some killings fit plausibly dey more sympathetic than odas.

Unarmed getaway driver convicted of felony murder afta him accomplices shoot someone during robbery; for instance, get stronger argument for mercy than Ted Bundy.

Di death penalty suppose dey reserved for di worst of di worst, Biden fit talk.

Dat no be wetin him do. Of di 37 men wey receive presidential clemency dis morning, some amass body count during dia time as drug dealers equal to or greater than dat of Tsarnaev, Roof, or Bowers.

One reprieved man kill woman, kidnap her 12-year-old daughter, then shoot di girl four times and cut her throat before dumping her body for di woods.

Anoda, Jorge Avila-Torrez, na bona fide serial killer wey him victims include two girls unda di age of 10, both of who him sexually assault before him kill dem.

No moral argument dey for sparing Avila-Torrez. Wetin distinguish am from di three men wey no receive clemency na politics.

Tsarnaev, Roof, and Bowers dey notorious while Avila-Torrez no dey although him go soon dey!

And dat make di political price of commuting dia death sentences too steep for di White House, e be like.

Functionally, Biden’s stance for capital punishment amount to “always wrong unless di convict dey really, really well-known.” How dat one be for bold moral stand?

Political damage

E dey remarkable how much damage Biden don do to him party ova di past month witill-considered presidential clemency.

Pardoning him son dey supremely selfish, especially afta him assure di public say him no go do am, but today’s commutations also get whiff of narcissism about dem.

Biden famously write di 1994 federal bill wey broaden di class of crimes wey fit warrant death, yet ova time wey don bicom less feather for him cap than albatross around him neck.

For di 30 years since, support for capital punishment among Americans don narrow from 80-16 for favor to 53-43, wit only 38 percent of di president’s party now in favor.

Maybe Joe Biden don get earnest change of heart ova time, as so many oda Americans don.

But I think e dey just as likely say him dey for “legacy” mode as him career dey sputter to end and him want di majority of Democrats wey now oppose capital punishment to get something to remember him dey fondly by for di sissue.

Dat one dey good for am but no so good for House and Senate Democrats, wey go spend di week afta Christmas dey field requests from reporters to kindly explain to di American pipo why Jorge Avila-Torrez’s life suppose dey spared.

Biden don also do injustice to worthy inmates for di federal prison system wey dey hope for presidential mercy.

Di Justice Department routinely dey consider appeals for clemency and recommend candidates to di White House, but some applications don dey sit on di president’s desk without action for years, per di Washington Post.

Neither di pardon of Hunter Biden nor di commutations granted last week to 1,500 convicts sentenced to home confinement during di pandemic dey among dose vetted.

Indefensibly, Biden don let Avila-Torrez and dozens of oda killers jump di line as well.

Dat na hallmark of him presidency. Dose wey follow proper procedure by repaying dia student loans, waiting patiently for immigration visa, or seeking presidential clemency through di Justice Department don dey left to feel like suckers for following di rules as di Biden White House dey connive to make allowances for dose wey no dey as conscientious.

Biden beta clear di decks of DOJ recommendations before him depart or else him legacy from dis episode go be less mata of having dealt blow to di death penalty than leaving left far more worthy clemency applicants to languish.

As a mata of fact, today’s commutations go probably doom am to political no-man’s land regardless insofar as him don do too much to take suit most of di public and not enough to suit anti-death penalty activists.

“You no fit rank victims, Mr. President,” one complain to Newsweek afta discova say Tsarnaev, Roof, and Bowers no dey spared.

“I dey beg you to finish di job, not only wit di three men left for di federal death row, but also wit dose on di military death row. Time still dey. Finish di job.”

Worst of all for Biden, I suspect most of di kontri go treat di news about killers wey dey spared di needle as occasion to reflect not just for di state of capital punishment but for di state of, well, him.

Last week, citing nearly 50 sources, di Wall Street Journal uncork exposé about di true extent of di president’s physical and cognitive diminishment.

Di White House no dey hide him decline for months, allegedly, e dey hide am for years.

As far back as him first few months for office, aides dey reschedule meetings for di fly bicos “him get good days and bad days, and today na bad day.”

For dis pan of about 18 months, him senescence don go from being semi-secret to open secret to no longer secret afta June’s presidential debate to scandalous cova-up revealed.

Dat na probably di lens through which much of di public go view today’s acts of clemency.

No be Joe Biden decide to spare most of federal death row, many go assume, na di liberal ideologues around am wey dey run di kontri for him cognitive absence.

Him just sign wat-eva paper dem put for him front.

In dat sense, di White House dey right to believe say e do something important today to secure Biden’s “legacy” in di eyes of di American pipo. Just not for di way e think.

A gift to Trump

Anoda remarkable thing about Biden’s pardon-palooza na say, between clemency for him son and clemency for murderers, him don give Donald Trump di widest possible berth politically to misuse presidential power wey him don already start to misuse for him first term.

One reason di pardon of Hunter Biden dey so obnoxious na say e preemptively disarm criticism of Trump’s forthcoming clemency for di January 6 rioters.

Yes, true, as sleazy as Hunter be, him no beat any cops or try to ova-throw di government.

But if Joe Biden fit hand out “get out of jail free” cards to him cronies, why Trump no suppose dey allowed to do di same?

Di moral case against dubious politically charged pardons grow weaker overnight.

Afta today e go even dey harder for di public to muster any outrage next month.

If gutter degenerate like Jorge Avila-Torrez dey worthy of presidential mercy, why di worst January 6 offenders no dey, like Stewart Rhodes, wey dem convict of seditious conspiracy?

Not all clemency dey created equal, I realize. Trump fit set Rhodes entirely free rather than knock him sentence down him peg like Biden don do for Avila-Torrez.

But for gut moral level of “who deserve compassion from

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