Prosecutor ‘pissed off’ over ‘Black Widow’ who killed 3 lovers released by Biden’s clemency initiative – Times of India

Josephine Gray and Joe Biden (Picture credit: Agencies/ The Washington Post)

Josephine Gray, nicknamed the “Black Widow,” was released from prison Wednesday as part of US President Joe Biden’s clemency initiative, which focuses on non-violent offenders. Gray had been serving a 40-year sentence for insurance fraud related to the deaths of three men between 1974 and 1996. However, the former prosecutor in Gray’s case has expressed anger over her release, saying it “doesn’t feel like a ‘rule of law.’”

Charges against Gray

Gray, convicted in 2002, was suspected of involvement in the deaths of two ex-husbands and a lover. All three men were found shot dead in their cars. Although initially charged with murder, she was ultimately convicted on federal insurance fraud charges, according to a New York Post report. Her attorney at the time argued she would likely die in prison.

Prosecutor expresses disappointment

The clemency decision angered James Trusty, the former prosecutor in Gray’s case. “This doesn’t feel like a ‘rule of law’ moment for the Biden administration,” Trusty said, as quoted by the New York Post. “It pisses me off, as you can imagine.”

Details of the murders

Investigators discovered voodoo materials in Gray’s possession, and prosecutors previously suggested she may have used charm and influence to encourage her three lovers to commit murder.
“Like the black widow spider, she basically kills her mates – and in this particular case, she did it three times,” Douglas Gansler, Montgomery County state’s attorney, said on NBC’s Today show in 2002.
The victims included Gray’s first husband, Norman Stribbling, found dead in 1974; her second husband, William Gray, found dead in 1996; and her lover of six years, Clarence Goode, also found dead in 1996. Lenron Goode, Clarence’s brother, said in 2002, “Sometimes you can sit in church and look at a person and see something else in them. You can see the devil come out of Josephine.”

Biden’s clemency initiative

President Biden commuted the sentences of about 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others. The commutations apply to individuals released to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic who have completed at least one year of confinement. The pardons affect those convicted of non-violent crimes, making this action the largest single-day use of clemency in recent history.
The releases aimed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in prisons.
Among the pardoned individuals were a military veteran, a youth counselor and church deacon, a doctoral student, and a woman leading disaster response teams. White House lawyers said these individuals have reformed their lives.
President Biden stressed the importance of second chances in his statement:
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances. As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”