A convicted child murderer, Thomas S. Sanders, whose death sentence was commuted by former President Biden during his last weeks in office, has been indicted by a Louisiana Grand Jury for the same heinous crime. The Catahoula Parish Grand Jury will seek the death penalty for Sanders, 15 years after he kidnapped and murdered 12-year-old Lexis Roberts from Las Vegas.
Sanders had originally been sentenced to death row by a federal jury in Louisiana in September 2014 after a four-year trial, during which he admitted to killing Lexis and her mother, Suellen. He later appealed this sentence in the Federal Court of Appeals in New Orleans in 2020.
Despite Biden granting Sanders clemency in December 2024, commuting his death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Catahoula Parish District Attorney Bradley R. Burget has announced that he will pursue the death penalty for the child murderer at the state level, potentially undoing Biden’s act of clemency.
Burget stated that in 2010, the state had deferred prosecution to federal authorities, who successfully prosecuted and achieved justice for Lexis. However, Biden’s decision to commute Sanders’ federal death sentence to life in prison has sparked controversy, with Burget emphasizing the importance of seeking justice for the victim over sparing the life of the convicted killer.
Sanders had met Roberts’ mother while working in a warehouse in Las Vegas in the summer of 2010. Two months into their relationship, Sanders, Suellen, and Roberts took a trip to the Grand Canyon, where Sanders shot Suellen and kidnapped Lexis. He kept her captive for several days as he drove across the country before ultimately shooting her four times and cutting her throat in a remote wooded area of Catahoula Parish.
After a nationwide manhunt, Sanders was captured at a truck stop in Mississippi more than a month later. The case was described as heartbreaking by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell at the time of Sanders’ sentencing in 2014.
Biden’s decision to commute Sanders’ sentence, along with the sentences of 36 other men on federal death row, including other child killers and mass murderers, was met with criticism from then-President Trump. Trump condemned the move on Truth Social, expressing outrage at the pardons granted to violent criminals.
The ongoing legal proceedings in Louisiana highlight the complexities surrounding the issue of capital punishment and the pursuit of justice in cases of heinous crimes. The indictment of Thomas S. Sanders serves as a reminder of the enduring quest for accountability and closure for the families of victims of violent crimes.
