CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin is using his final days as a representative of the Mountain State to stand up for one of its daughters who was kidnapped and murdered.
Manchin took to X (formerly Twitter) Thursday, speaking on President Joe Biden’s recent decision to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 federal death row inmates, including Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who were accused of killing Marshall University student Samantha Burns, 19, in 2002.
After speaking to Samantha Burns’ parents, I believe it is my duty to speak on their behalf and say President Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences for the two men convicted in her brutal murder is horribly misguided and insulting. (1/3)
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) December 26, 2024
As their U.S. Senator and a father, I want to express my deepest sympathy for their continued suffering. Please know that Samantha will forever be in our prayers. (3/3)
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) December 26, 2024
Burns was reported missing on November 11, 2002, after last being seen at the Huntington Mall in Barboursville. Investigators found Burns’ car in a secluded part of Wayne County after it had been set on fire.
Basham and Fulks were escapees of a prison in Hopkins County, Kentucky, when they began a 17-day crime spree. The spree saw the duo commit crimes in multiple states, including the kidnapping and murder of Galivants Ferry, South Carolina, resident Alice Donovan, 44.
The pair had kidnapped Donovan at a Walmart parking lot in Conway, South Carolina before murdering her and disposing of her body. A letter supposedly led to the discovery of Donovan’s remains in 2009.
Reports came that both Basham and Fulks pleaded guilty to Burns’ murder in 2009, and Fulks had supposedly expressed interest in working with investigators to find her remains. Fulks was temporarily released from prison to aid investigators in the search, but Burns’ remains were never found.
Biden’s announcement leaves just three on death row in America. President-elect Donald Trump has been vocal about enforcing the death penalty in the country.