Who is Aquila Marcvicci Barnette? Man Whose Death Penalty was Commuted by President Biden?

Aquila Marcivicci Barnette is a 50 year-old death row inmate who sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment by President Biden in a raft of pardonings before he leaves office in January.

Barnette went on a crime spree in the 90s that included the murders of his ex-girlfriend and another man, Donald Lee Allen, during a carjacking.

He was indicted on 11 counts, three of which carried the possibility of a death sentence such as carjacking resulting in death and using a firearm during a violent crime. A jury found him guilty of all 11 charges and he was subsequently sentenced to death. An initially successful appeal led to the death sentences being vacated, but a resenting led to the same death sentence which was then upheld by the appellate court.

Crimes

Aquilia Marcivicci Barnette shot and killed Donald Lee Allen during a carjacking and murdered his ex-girlfriend, who he had initially tried to kill via arson.

Barnette’s crimes began with an arson attack on his ex-girlfriend Robin Williams’ apartment. On April 30, 1996, he firebombed her apartment after she ended their relationship. Williams and a friend narrowly escaped the blaze, suffering injuries in the process. Following this incident, Barnette was charged with attempted murder and arson but fled to Charlotte, North Carolina.

On June 22, 1996, Barnette committed a carjacking and murder. He approached Donald Lee Allen at a traffic light near Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, ordered him out of his vehicle at gunpoint, and shot him multiple times before stealing Allen’s car. Barnette then drove to Roanoke, Virginia. Shortly thereafter, he shot and killed Williams outside her mother’s home on Loudon Avenue Northwest.

Barnette was arrested a few days later at his mother’s home in Charlotte. He also faced a weapons charge for illegally purchasing a weapon as a convicted felon, and later modifying it by sawing off the barrel.

Pardon

Aquilia Marcivicci Barnette was pardoned by President Biden on December 23, 2024, with the President commuting the death sentences of 37 federal inmates who had been sentenced to death for involvement in violent crimes.

The commutation reclassified Barnette’s sentence from execution to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.