The Columbus cop killer among 37 federal death row inmates had his sentence commuted to life in prison by Biden

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A man who killed a Columbus police officer in a series of bank robberies will be released from death row and serve a life sentence after a commutation by President Joe Biden.

Repeat bank robber Daryl Lawrence opened fire during a robbery at a 5/3 Bank on East Broad Street on January 6, 2005. He shot Officer Bryan Hurst in the chest, but the mortally wounded officer was able to fire back, hitting Lawerence.

Lawrence was caught three days after the robbery and charged in federal court with the shooting and robbery of four banks. A jury found him guilty and eligible for the death penalty.

Hurst was working extra duty that day to cover expenses after his wife, who also works in law enforcement, had a child. She was fired from the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office for failing to return to work within two weeks of giving birth after the sheriff at the time denied her request for light work.

Lawrence has since appealed his case to the Supreme Court, which denied his petition, and is currently suing the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the release of materials related to his case under the Freedom of Information Act.

“The decision to commute Daryl Lawrence’s sentence is an inexcusable affront to the memory of Officer Bryan Hurst and the law enforcement community at large,” said Brian Steel, President of FOP Capital City Lodge #9. “Bryan made the ultimate sacrifice and this decision undermines the justice he rightly received for his murder.”

Biden’s commutation leaves three federal inmates on death row — Dylann Roof, who carried out the racist murders of nine black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 2013 Boston Marathon bomber; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

“Today I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole,” Biden said in a statement. “These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has placed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”

His administration announced a moratorium on the federal death penalty in 2021 to study the protocols used, pausing executions during his term. As a candidate in 2020, Biden said on his campaign website that he would “work to pass legislation abolishing the death penalty at the federal level and provide incentives for states to follow the federal government’s lead.”

There have been 13 federal executions during President Donald Trump’s term, more than any other president in modern history. He frequently advocated expanding executions to include drug dealers and people smugglers.

“They are among the worst murderers in the world and this despicable decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families and their loved ones,” said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung. “President Trump represents the rule of law that will return when he is back in the White House after being elected with a massive mandate from the American people.”

Donnie Oliverio, Hurt’s partner, said in a statement that executing “the person who killed my police partner and best friend would not have brought me peace.”

“The president did what is right here,” Oliverio said, “and what is consistent with the faith that he and I share.”

The Associated Press contributed.