Two federal death row inmates whose sentences were commuted by President Joe Biden are refusing to sign the paperwork accepting lighter sentences, wanting to retain their death sentences.
Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis are among the 37 death row inmates whose sentences were commuted to life without the possibility of parole by Biden last month, according to the White House. They are both being held at U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Both inmates refused to sign clemency paperwork which would have lessened their sentences.
"The defendant never requested commutation," said Agofsky's filing, obtained by NBC News. "The defendant never filed for commutation. The defendant does not want commutation, and refused to sign the papers offered with the commutation."
On Monday, Dec. 30, they each filed motions seeking an injunction to prevent their sentences from being changed in federal court in the state's southern district, attempting to keep their death penalty sentencing.
"To commute his sentence now, while the defendant has active litigation in court, is to strip him of the protection of heightened scrutiny. This constitutes an undue burden, and leaves the defendant in a position of fundamental unfairness, which would decimate his pending appellate procedures," said Agofsky's filing.
The inmates believe that they will be more easily able to appeal their cases and claim innocence if they are facing the death penalty than life imprisonment. Cases in which the death penalty has been dispensed are subject to "heightened scrutiny" when appealed, where the court re-examines the case incredibly closely due to the permanent nature of the punishment.
While heightened scrutiny does not guarantee that the inmates' appeals will be successful, Agofsky indicated in his filing that he would like to retain that level of increased scrutiny when his case his being reviewed.
According to Davis' filing, he "has always maintained that having a death sentence would draw attention to the overwhelming misconduct" allegedly occurring within the Justice Department, of which he is a victim.
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