President Biden recently commuted the sentence of Josephine Gray, a Maryland woman convicted of mail and wire fraud in 2002 related to collecting $160,000 in life insurance from three deceased men. Her home detention will end in April.
Gray was suspected in the 1974 murder of her first husband Norman Stribbling (insurance payout: $16,000), convicted in the 1990 murder of second husband William Robert Gray ($54,000 payout), and convicted in the 1996 murder of boyfriend Clarence Goode ($100,000 total payout).
Former prosecutor James Trusty called Gray “devious and murderous.” Former Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein criticized the commutation, stating “Federal courts found that Gray is a serial killer who committed premeditated murders to collect victims’ life insurance proceeds.”
However, Federal Public Defender Jim Wyda supported the decision, noting Gray is wheelchair-bound and that the commutation “merely finalizes” her compassionate release status for medical reasons.
The White House’s December 12 announcement emphasized clemency for “non-violent crimes” regarding pardons, but didn’t specify this criterion for sentence commutations. They described commutation recipients as showing “successful rehabilitation and strong commitment to making their communities safer.”
Prosecutors noted Gray was known for witness intimidation and voodoo practices, which initially prevented convictions in her first two husband’s deaths. Her case culminated in a 40-year federal sentence before Biden’s recent commutation.
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