New England man on Biden's federal death row commutation list 'senselessly killed,' Tsarnaev left off

Rick Sobey, Boston Herald on Dec 23, 2024

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A New England man who was on death row after he “senselessly killed” and was indicted for sending bomb threats to the home of former President George H. W. Bush is on President Biden’s federal death row commutation list.

While 53-year-old Maine man Charles Hall is on the commutation list, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was left off the list because Biden did not include terrorism cases.

Hall (federal prisoner #03766-036) was initially sentenced to 16 years in federal prison after a Maine grand jury indicted him for phoning in bomb threats to Bush’s Kennebunkport home, the Portland International Jetport and an office building in Portland — as well as sending threatening letters to the U.S. Attorney in Maine.

Then, Hall was given the death penalty for murdering another inmate. In 2010, Hall and fellow inmate Wesley Coonce Jr. at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Missouri killed another inmate, Victor Castro-Rodriguez, 51.

Both Hall and Coonce were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of one count of murder in the first degree. Coonce was also found guilty of one count of murder by an inmate serving a life sentence.

Coonce is also on Biden’s federal death row commutation list. Hall and Coonce now face life sentences without the possibility of parole.

“Two federal inmates senselessly killed another inmate, and today, they have been brought to justice,” Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said when the pair was sentenced to death in 2014. “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all Bureau of Prisons employees and inmates.”

“Achieving justice sometimes requires us to ask our citizens to make the most difficult sentencing decisions,” added U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson of the Western District of Missouri. “We appreciate their patience and commitment throughout trial. The defendants’ conduct strikes at the heart of our justice system, which depends upon the safety and security of our penal institutions. Mr. Castro was targeted for murder, in part, because he intervened to help a Bureau of Prisons employee as he was being attacked by another inmate.”

Hall back in 1999 faced an 11-count federal indictment after he phoned in a series of bomb threats. He was accused of making phone bomb threats against Portland International Airport, which caused the facility to close temporarily.

Hall also was accused of making bomb threats against Bush’s Kennebunkport home, and making a bomb threat against an office building known as One City Center. He also sent threatening letters to Jay McCloskey, the U.S. Attorney in Maine, whose office was investigating Hall for the One City Center bomb threat.

At the time of the threats, Hall was being held at the Cumberland County Jail. No bombs were found in any of the threatened locations.

Hall was one of 37 individuals on federal death row who had their sentences commuted by Biden on Monday.

“I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” the president said in a statement. “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole. These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.

“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden added. “But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”

These commutations come after Biden announced clemency for about 1,500 people — the most ever in a single day. That clemency list included Bay Staters who were sentenced for fentanyl trafficking and oxycodone trafficking.

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