President Joe Biden’s clemency initiative has come under fire after the release of Josephine Virginia Gray, a Maryland woman convicted of insurance fraud tied to the deaths of her two husbands and a boyfriend. Dubbed the “Black Widow,” Gray collected $165,000 from insurance policies after the men’s deaths.
Gray’s 2002 conviction under the “slayers rule” barred her from profiting from the deaths. Though charged with murder in Maryland, she was ultimately sentenced in federal court for insurance fraud and given 40 years. Maryland prosecutors declined further charges, believing the federal sentence sufficient.
@JoeBiden ‘Black Widow,’ Who Murdered 3 Ex-Lovers, Freed in Biden’s Historic Clemency Spree.
A Maryland woman dubbed the "Black Widow" for murdering two husbands and a boyfriend for insurance money is now free after President Joe Biden commuted her 40-year prison
— Bad Optics 🇺🇸🐂 (@BadOptics4U) December 19, 2024
James Trusty, the federal prosecutor in her case, called the clemency decision a betrayal of justice. “Her life story is written in the blood of three men,” he said.
The White House described the clemency recipients as “non-violent offenders,” a claim critics say is contradicted by Gray’s actions. Witnesses at Gray’s trial said she used threats, including voodoo, to silence them.
Black Widow Who Murdered Three Men Released by Joe Biden.https://t.co/DuZa9esF40
A Maryland woman who murdered two of her husbands and her boyfriend for the insurance payouts is the recipient of Joe Biden's "historic" clemency executive action that saw 1,500 criminals have their…— 𝙳𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝙾𝚠𝚎𝚗𓂀 (@realdennyowen) December 19, 2024
I just read that Biden pardoned a woman, Josephine Gray, who murdered two husbands & a boyfriend for the insurance money over the span of 20 years.
What is going on with these pardons? He's more than doubled FDR's, the previous pardon leader, who was in office for 12 years…— John Bullen (@protagonist2012) December 19, 2024
Gray is not the only controversial clemency recipient. Biden also commuted the sentence of a Pennsylvania judge involved in a kickback scheme and a journalist whose drug operation was linked to multiple overdose deaths.
Gray’s release marks a troubling precedent for those who question the administration’s clemency review process.
