Former death row inmates are suing the Trump administration, claiming a vindictive attempt to transfer them to America’s harshest federal prison after President Biden commuted their sentences.
Quick Takes
- 21 former death row prisoners whose sentences were commuted by Biden are challenging their proposed transfer to a maximum-security facility.
- Trump’s administration seeks to move them from Indiana to ADX Florence, Colorado – known as America’s most restrictive federal prison.
- The lawsuit claims the transfer process is a “sham” designed to punish prisoners who received clemency from Biden.
- Trump signed an executive order directing officials to ensure confinement conditions reflect the severity of prisoners’ crimes.
- ACLU argues the collective transfer decision bypasses individualized risk assessment and constitutes political retribution.
Legal Battle Over Presidential Clemency
Twenty-one former death row inmates are suing President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to prevent their transfer to the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado. These prisoners were among 37 individuals whose death sentences were commuted by former President Biden before leaving office, a move partially intended to prevent the resumption of federal executions under a potential Trump administration. Now housed at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, these inmates claim they face politically motivated punishment.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the ACLU and other rights groups, argues that the proposed transfers represent an unconstitutional attempt to circumvent presidential clemency powers. The litigation comes after inmates began receiving notices that they were being evaluated for placement at ADX Florence, widely regarded as the most restrictive federal prison in America, known for keeping inmates in nearly complete isolation.
Me in @NewYorkSun on a stunning new lawsuit brought by death row inmates whose executions were commuted by Biden:
They are suing Trump for 'cruel and unusual punishment' for plotting to send them to America's only supermax prison, where El Chapo lurks. https://t.co/1Eqj2Sn4PJ
— Ari Hoffman (@AriHoffmanWrite) April 17, 2025
Trump’s Executive Action on Commuted Sentences
On his first day back in the White House, President Trump signed an executive order promoting the death penalty and directing officials to review the imprisonment conditions for inmates whose death sentences had been commuted. The order specifically instructed authorities to “evaluate the places of imprisonment” for these individuals. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi followed with a memorandum to the Bureau of Prisons directing assessments of where these commuted prisoners should be held.
This executive action set in motion what the lawsuit describes as a predetermined process to transfer all 37 commuted prisoners to ADX Florence. The plaintiffs contend that the administration is bypassing normal procedures that would typically involve individualized assessment of security risks, medical needs, and behavioral records. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, the government is conducting perfunctory hearings with outcomes already decided, regardless of individual circumstances.
ACLU Claims Retributive Process
According to the ACLU, the prison bureau has abandoned its standard individualized placement process in favor of a blanket approach targeting Biden’s clemency recipients. Attorneys representing the prisoners claim that even inmates with serious medical or mental health issues, good behavioral records, or advanced age are being recommended for transfer to ADX Florence. The lawsuit cites this as evidence that the decision is politically motivated rather than based on legitimate security concerns.
ACLU attorney Corene Kendrick further asserted that the Bureau of Prisons is conducting hearings where outcomes are predetermined, regardless of individual circumstances. “The Bureau of Prisons is currently in the middle of holding these sham hearings where they are telling the incarcerated person that it doesn’t matter that they have serious medical issues or serious mental health issues or that they’re elderly, that every single one of them is going to go to ADX in Florence, Colorado,” she stated. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Constitutional Questions at Stake
This case raises significant constitutional questions about the limits of presidential clemency and whether a subsequent administration can effectively diminish the impact of a predecessor’s commutation decisions. The lawsuit argues that transferring these inmates to harsher conditions amounts to imposing a new punishment after their sentences were legally modified through presidential commutation. Such action, the plaintiffs contend, undermines the constitutional separation of powers and the president’s clemency authority.
The conditions at ADX Florence are substantially more restrictive than those at Terre Haute, with inmates typically confined to their cells for 23 hours daily and limited human contact. Critics describe it as a place designed for the most dangerous and escape-prone federal prisoners, housing terrorists and cartel leaders. The plaintiffs argue that placing commuted death row inmates there without individualized justification constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and violates due process protections.
Sources:
Former death row prisoners fight attempt to move them to one of the nation’s harshest prisons.
Terre Haute prisoners sue to stop transfer to federal ‘supermax’ facility
