The pardoning of a Bridgeport man convicted for conspiring to kill a mother and her 8-year -old son, by then president Joe Biden, has led to harsh criticism by Mayor Joe Ganim and other city officials. They鈥檙e asking for an investigation over the legality of the pardons, despite longstanding legal precedent over presidential authority in granting pardons.
While speaking to the media Thursday, Mayor Ganim questioned the pardon.
鈥淗ow could this happen,鈥� Ganim said. 鈥淗ow could the former president, with clear mind, actually sign this type of pardon for this individual; unspeakable, and then to look at what may have happened?鈥�
Adrian Peeler was convicted of conspiracy to convict murder in the 1999 killings of , 8-year-old, Leroy 鈥淏J鈥� Brown Jr. and his mother, Karen Clarke. 鈥淏J鈥� was scheduled to testify against Peeler鈥檚 brother Russell Peeler, who authorities say killed Clarke鈥檚 boyfriend in a drive-by shooting while 鈥淏J鈥� was in the car. He along with his mother were killed in their apartment, Ganim said, which and spurred the creation of the state鈥檚 witness protection program.
Peeler was sentenced to death, but was later resentenced to 25 years after the state abolished the death penalty. The witness protection program, created after the murders, offers protections to witnesses of crimes, tailored to their needs, according to the state.
Peeler鈥檚 pardon, first announced earlier this year, was for a 35 year sentence on a federal drug charges in a separate case. The pardon led to sharp criticism from several state and federal lawmakers, who claimed granting Peeler clemency was insensitive and harmful.
Now Ganim said Peeler鈥檚 release from prison could endanger the community if he returns to Bridgeport. Ganim said Peeler鈥檚 whereabouts are unknown as of Thursday, but said it鈥檚 possible he is back in 黑料吃瓜网.
鈥淧eople are scared,鈥� Ganim said. 鈥淲e've gotten the calls from victims advocates. I cannot and won't speak on behalf of the family, but the second hand, what we have is this is not, certainly something that adds any comfort.鈥�
Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter was a sergeant back when the murders happened, when the city was a much more dangerous place for residents. He openly asked if Peeler鈥檚 pardon could be rescinded.
鈥淚f there's some way that this could be reversed, it needs to be reversed,鈥� Porter said.
But Porter may not have much recourse, yet. Questions over the legality of presidential pardons are not new, with recent examples being the pardoning of participants in the January 6th insurrection, to former president Joe Biden鈥檚 pardoning of his immediate family.
by stating congress had little power to restrict presidential pardons. President Donald Trump claimed Biden鈥檚 pardons are invalid citing the use of an autopen, but announced, during then-president George W. Bush鈥檚 administration, pardons signed by autopen, were legal, more than twenty years ago. It is unclear if Biden used one to sign Peeler鈥檚 pardon.
That hasn鈥檛 stopped Ganim from repeating questions over the legality of Biden鈥檚 pardons similar to attacks by Republican members of congress, who questioned Biden's mental acuity when he signed the pardons. Biden defended his actions and claimed the attacks are to distract from Trump鈥檚 actions in office, during a recent interview with
鈥淲e're demanding answers from the federal government, demand answers from those that signed, if it was the President to sign this, if he delegated that authority illegally,鈥� Ganim said.
U.S. Rep. Addison McDowell, a Republican representing North Carolina, recently introduced a bill outlawing the usage of autopens by presidents. If passed, it states it would invalidate previous presidential signatures signed by autopen.
